Representing Representation: Integration between the Temporal Lobe and the Posterior Cingulate Influences the Content and Form of Spontaneous Thought.
PLoS One August 25, 2016 Jonathan Smallwood, Theodoros Karapanagiotidis, Florence Ruby et al.
Spontaneous thoughts about absent people, places, or events arise from interactions within the default mode network (DMN). The posterior cingulate cortex, a core DMN region, integrates information from medial and lateral temporal lobe memory systems, which represent different aspects of knowledge. Individual differences in connectivity between temporal lobe regions and the DMN core predict the content and form of people's spontaneous thoughts. In a laboratory study, variations in functional connectivity from both medial and lateral temporal lobe regions were associated with different patterns of spontaneous thought, converging on an overlapping region in the posterior cingulate cortex. The posterior DMN core acts as a representational hub that integrates temporal lobe information, shaping spontaneous thought.