New research suggests that failure can be a rewarding experience.

Researchers at the University of Southern California found that having the opportunity to learn from failure can turn it into a positive experience -- if the brain has a chance to learn from its mistakes.

"We show that, in certain circumstances, when we get enough information to contextualize the choices, then our brain essentially reaches towards the reinforcement mechanism, instead of turning toward avoidance," researcher Giorgio Coricelli said in a statement.

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from 28 people, each around 26 years old. They asked them a series of questions that challenged them to maximize their gains by providing the right answers. If they chose a wrong answer, they lost money, while right answers helped them earn money.

One trial prompted their brains to respond to getting the wrong answer with avoidance learning. A second trial prompted a reward-based learning reaction, and a third but separate trial tested whether participants had learned from their mistakes, allowing them to review and understand what they got wrong.

In that third round, the participants responded positively, activating areas in their brains that some scientists call the "reward circuit" -- or the "ventral striatum." This experience mimicked the brain's reward-based learning response -- as opposed to an avoidance-learning response, an experience that involves different parts of the brain that together comprise the "anterior insula."

Coricelli said this process is similar to what the brain experiences when feeling regret.

"With regret, for instance, if you have done something wrong, then you might change your behavior in the future," he said.

The findings are detailed in the journal Nature Communications.