Journal of Neuroscience
March 12, 2014
Aaron Kucyi, Massieh Moayedi, Irit Weissman‐fogel et al.
390 citations
In patients with chronic pain, rumination—repetitive focus on discomfort—is linked to altered functional connectivity in the brain's default mode network. In a study of 17 patients with temporomandibular disorder and 17 matched healthy controls, those with chronic pain showed enhanced connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and other default mode network regions, including the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus. Among patients, greater rumination about pain correlated with stronger connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, retrosplenial cortex, medial thalamus, and periaqueductal gray. These results suggest that communication within the default mode network and with the descending pain modulatory system underlies the degree of rumination about chronic pain.
Neuroimage
June 25, 2014
Aaron Kucyi, Karen D. Davis
381 citations
Daydreaming is linked to how brain networks fluctuate over time, not just their average connectivity. In healthy adults, those who daydreamed more showed less stable connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and a part of the default mode network involved in future thinking. However, greater moment-to-moment variability in that same network's connectivity predicted more mind-wandering during a sensory task. The findings suggest that dynamic, rather than static, brain network activity reflects the conscious experience of daydreaming.
Human Brain Mapping
January 1, 2025
Isaac N Treves, Aaron Kucyi, Madelynn Park et al.
8 citations
Trait mindfulness—the tendency to attend to present experience non-judgmentally—is linked to better mental health, but its neural basis remains unclear. In the largest resting-state fMRI study of trait mindfulness to date, involving 367 meditation-naïve adults across three sites, no connections predicted overall trait mindfulness. However, neural models for two subscales, Acting with Awareness and Non-judging, were identified. Positive networks for these subscales involved distinct fronto-parietal and default-mode networks, while negative networks overlapped across subscales and included somatomotor, visual, and default-mode regions. Only negative networks generalized to predict subscale scores in some out-of-sample tests. Predictions negatively correlated with a mind-wandering model. The findings provide preliminary evidence for generalizable connectivity models of mindfulness facets, but incomplete generalization across sites and model overlap highlight the challenge of identifying robust brain markers.
Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science
November 1, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Hilary A Marusak, Alexandra Decker et al.
7 citations
A significant finding reveals that adolescents with higher trait mindfulness experience lower anxiety and depression symptoms. An analysis of 106 adolescents, ages 12 to 15, identified a reliable brain state characterized by hyperconnectivity, showing an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.65. This state, marked by elevated positive connectivity between networks, was positively correlated with self-reported trait mindfulness. While most dynamic brain states were unreliable across scans, this hyperconnected state may reflect enhanced awareness and arousal in those exhibiting higher mindfulness traits.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
July 4, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Hilary A Marusak, Alexandra Decker et al.
3 citations
preprint
A highly reliable brain state linked to trait mindfulness was identified in adolescents, highlighting its potential role in mental health. In a study of 106 participants aged 12 to 15, one hyperconnected state showed good reliability (ICC=0.65) and correlated positively with self-reported trait mindfulness. Adolescents exhibiting higher trait mindfulness experienced lower anxiety and depression symptoms. While most dynamic brain states were unreliable across scans, this particular state suggests that increased mindfulness may enhance awareness and arousal, offering insights into adolescent mental well-being.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
January 20, 2024
Aaron Kucyi, Nathan Anderson, Tiara Bounyarith et al.
2 citations
preprint
Mind-wandering, a common daily mental activity, varies uniquely from person to person. In three individuals who each reported hundreds of mind-wandering episodes during multiple fMRI sessions, reliable links between mind-wandering and default mode network (DMN) activation emerged when brain networks were analyzed within each person. However, the timing of spontaneous DMN activity relative to subjective reports, and the broader networks activated or deactivated during mind-wandering, differed across individuals. Whole-brain connectivity patterns that predicted mind-wandering within an individual did not fully generalize to others, and predictive models from larger datasets largely failed when applied to these densely-sampled individuals. This work demonstrates both conserved and variable neural representations of mind-wandering, highlighting the value of personalized approaches.
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
February 5, 2025
Isaac N Treves, Aaron Kucyi, Anna O Tierney et al.
1 citation
During a breath-counting task, 72 adolescents showed increased static connectivity within attention-direction and orienting networks and anticorrelations between attention networks and the default mode network compared to rest. Dynamic connectivity analysis revealed four distinct brain states, including one anticorrelated with the default mode network that was proportionally more present during the task. Brain state markers distinguished breathing tasks from rest and momentary on-task from off-task attention, but no brain states reflected between-individual behavioral variability.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
July 14, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Aaron Kucyi, Madelynn Park et al.
1 citation
preprint
Trait mindfulness—the tendency to attend to present-moment experience non-judgmentally—is linked to better mental health, but its neural basis remains unclear. In the largest resting-state fMRI study of trait mindfulness to date, involving 367 adults across three samples, researchers used connectome predictive modeling to test whether brain connectivity patterns could predict mindfulness scores. No connections predicted overall trait mindfulness, but models for two subscales—Acting with Awareness and Non-judging—were identified. Positive networks for these subscales involved fronto-parietal and default-mode networks, respectively. Negative networks, which overlapped across subscales, included somatomotor, visual, and default-mode connections. Only negative networks generalized to predict subscale scores in some out-of-sample datasets, and predictions correlated negatively with a mind-wandering model. The incomplete generalization and model overlap highlight the challenge of identifying robust brain markers for mindfulness facets.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
May 12, 2026
Tiara Bounyarith, David Braun, Aaron Kucyi
A new method called real-time fMRI-triggered experience-sampling (rt-fMRI-ES) was developed to capture spontaneous thoughts with better temporal precision. During a resting state, brain activity in the dorsal anterior insular cortex (part of the salience network) and posteromedial cortex (part of the default mode network) was monitored in real time to trigger thought probes. In 42 to 49 participants, the method did not support the hypothesis that arousal ratings would be higher when triggered by insular activation, but it did support the hypothesis that external-attention ratings were lower when triggered by posteromedial cortex activation. The rt-fMRI-ES technique successfully enables efficient sampling of spontaneous thoughts based on ongoing neural activity.
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.
Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
January 1, 2026
Tiara Bounyarith, David Braun, Aaron Kucyi
A new method called real-time fMRI-triggered experience sampling (rt-fMRI-ES) was developed to capture spontaneous thoughts with better temporal precision. In 42 to 49 participants at rest, brain activity in the posteromedial cortex (a default mode network region) was used to trigger thought probes. When probes were triggered by activity in this region, participants reported lower external attention compared to other trials, supporting the hypothesis that default mode network activity relates to internally focused thought. However, the hypothesis that dorsal anterior insular cortex activity would correspond to higher arousal ratings was not supported. The method offers a way to study spontaneous thought based on ongoing neural activity.
Brain Stimulation
November 18, 2023
Anna Duong, Julian Quabs, Aaron Kucyi et al.
Direct electrical stimulation of the human insular cortex in 17 neurosurgical patients with 142 implanted electrodes induced reportable changes in conscious experience at 40% of stimulation sites, spanning visceral/autonomic, anxiety, taste/olfactory, pain/temperature, and somatosensory domains. These subjective responses mapped onto specific microstructural areas defined by cytoarchitectonic parcellation: pain and thermal responses localized to areas lg2/ld2, non-painful somatosensory responses to area ld3, and visceroceptive responses to area Id6. Stimulation of area Id7 in the dorsal anterior insula did not produce reportable subjective changes, despite intracranial EEG recordings showing significant time-locked high-frequency activity. The findings provide a multimodal functional map linking fine-grained microstructural subdivisions to distinct subjective experiences.
Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
January 1, 2022
Athena Demertzi, Aaron Kucyi, Adrián Ponce-Alvarez et al.
Anticorrelations between the default mode network and other brain regions are proposed as a physiological marker of preserved consciousness. The article argues that these anticorrelations express the brain's capacity for segregation—selective functional connectivity between areas—mediated by neural inhibition that regulates global and local inhibitory activity. While other mechanisms may also produce anticorrelations, neural inhibition helps explain how network metastability is disrupted when local and global neural balance is altered. The authors suggest that if the brain cannot host anticorrelations, the individual likely lacks subjective experience. This link may aid understanding of consciousness and guide interventions for consciousness disorders where anticorrelations are affected.
Devayani Joshi, Alexa Tompary, Aaron Kucyi
preprint
The default mode network (DMN) is a set of brain regions active during rest that supports spontaneous thoughts and memory consolidation. This review examines how the DMN may act as a neural workspace linking these processes. It identifies gaps in current understanding and proposes future research directions to study how spontaneous thought and memory systems operate synergistically, aiming to bridge separate research traditions.