Attentional lapses—moments when focus slips—are linked to mind wandering (task-unrelated thoughts) or mind blanking (a halt in the stream of consciousness). By analyzing behavior, subjective reports, and high-density EEG in healthy participants performing a task, the authors found that both types of lapses are preceded by spatially and temporally localized slow waves in the brain—a pattern typical of the transition to sleep. The location of these slow waves distinguished between sluggish versus impulsive behaviors and between mind wandering versus mind blanking. The findings suggest that attentional lapses share a common physiological origin: the emergence of local sleep-like activity within the awake brain.
Attentional lapses—moments when focus drifts to unrelated thoughts (mind wandering) or the stream of consciousness halts (mind blanking)—are linked to localized slow-wave brain activity resembling sleep. Healthy participants performed a task while high-density electroencephalography recorded their brain activity; random interruptions prompted them to report whether their mental state was task-focused, mind-wandering, or mind-blanking. Slow waves preceded reports of both mind wandering and mind blanking, and their location distinguished between sluggish and impulsive behaviors as well as between the two types of lapses. The findings suggest that attentional lapses share a common physiological origin: the emergence of local sleep-like activity within the awake brain.