The default mode network: where spontaneous thought meets memory consolidation.
Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences February 1, 2026 Devayani Joshi, Alexa Tompary, Aaron Kucyi
The default mode network (DMN), a set of brain regions active during wakeful rest, supports spontaneous thoughts and memory reactivation. Emerging evidence suggests that DMN activity during spontaneous thought provides a neural context that helps propagate recently learned information to aid long-term memory consolidation. The review highlights links between spontaneous thought and improved memory performance, describes how DMN subsystems coordinate with the hippocampus during reactivation, and connects spontaneous thought content to memory reactivations. Future directions are outlined to clarify the mechanistic role of spontaneous thought in memory consolidation through interactions between the DMN, hippocampus, and broader cortical networks.