Distinct Electrophysiological Signatures of Intentional and Unintentional Mind-Wandering Revealed by Low-Frequency EEG Markers
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) March 21, 2023 Adrien Martel, Nicolás Bruno, Ian H. Robertson et al. preprint
Intentional and unintentional mind-wandering have distinct brain signatures measurable by scalp EEG. Theta-frequency activity best distinguishes on-task from off-task states, while alpha-frequency activity characterizes intentional task-unrelated thought compared to unintentional. These findings support the intentionality dimension of mind-wandering and suggest potential for real-time detection of maladaptive mind-wandering.