Neural correlates of realisation of satisfaction in a successful search process

In a search process, searchers review documents to gather information relevant to their information need (IN). During this process, searchers may experience the satisfaction of their IN, indicating they have gathered adequate relevant information to answer their need. This complex concept of satisfaction is the ultimate goal of search systems. Most studies in Information Retrieval (IR) have been attempted to understand how searchers' needs are satisfied based on behavioural observation. However, the psychophysiological manifestation during the moment of satisfaction still remains unclear. Here, we use functional Magnetic Resonance (fMRI) to investigate which brain regions are involved during the moment of satisfaction. Twenty-six participants participated in the experiment, designed to represent a search process while being scanned. Our result shows the human brain regions involved during the moment of satisfaction. These findings provide an important step in unravelling the concept of satisfaction in a search process.