The Default Mode Network (DMN) is a brain system where cognitive and emotional processes converge, especially in integrating memory and emotion. This mini-review identifies three patterns of DMN activity during emotional processing: the ventromedial prefrontal cortex encodes memory pleasantness while other DMN regions build episodic content; DMN interacts with amygdala and anterior insula to assign emotional significance; and widespread DMN activation occurs for both pleasant and unpleasant events, challenging the idea that cognition and emotion are modular. The first two patterns may stem from methodological choices, while a non-modular view has recently emerged as most plausible. The DMN appears fundamental for constructing coherent, emotionally charged narratives.
Imagining pleasant events activates the medial prefrontal cortex more than imagining unpleasant ones, while both pleasant and unpleasant imagery produce stronger activity in several default mode network (DMN) regions compared to neutral imagery. The study used a within-subject design to identify each person's DMN during rest and then measured brain activity during pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant narrative imagery. Enhanced activation for emotional versus neutral content appeared in the posterior cingulate cortex, angular gyrus, anterior hippocampus, lateral temporal cortex, temporal pole, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Widespread emotional modulation across the DMN suggests that retrieving and constructing events serves to simulate motivationally relevant experiences for adaptive planning.