Lesion network mapping demonstrates that mind‐wandering is associated with the default mode network
Journal of Neuroscience Research November 20, 2019 C. Philippi, J. Bruss, A. Boes et al.
Damage to specific brain networks, particularly the default mode network (DMN), reduces how often people report mind-wandering. In a study of 29 people with brain injuries and 19 healthy controls, mind-wandering frequency was measured with the Imaginal Processes Inventory. Lesion network mapping, which uses resting-state functional connectivity data from healthy brains to infer networks affected by each injury, showed that reduced mind-wandering was most strongly linked to damage in the left inferior parietal lobule within the DMN. Traditional lesion mapping also associated reduced mind-wandering with damage to several DMN regions including the medial prefrontal cortex, parietal lobule, and inferior frontal gyrus. These results support the DMN's role in spontaneous thought.