Mapping the self in the brain's default mode network
Christopher G. Davey, Jesus Pujol, Ben J. Harrison
Neuroimage February 15, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.022 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 88 |
| Population | Human participants |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Posterior cingulate Self-reference effect Prefrontal cortex Resting State FMRI Rest music Inferior parietal lobule Dynamic functional connectivity Cortex anatomy Cognitive psychology Cognition Consumer neuroscience |
| Citations | 576 |
| Key findings | Self-related processes are driven by posterior cingulate cortex activity and moderated by medial prefrontal cortex regulatory influences. |
Abstract
The brain's default mode network (DMN) has become closely associated with self-referential mental activity, particularly in the resting-state. While the DMN is important for such processes, it has functions other than self-reference, and self-referential processes are supported by regions outside of the DMN. In our study of 88 participants, we examined self-referential and resting-state processes to clarify the extent to which DMN activity was common and distinct between the conditions. Within areas commonly activated by self-reference and rest we sought to identify those that showed additional functional specialization for self-referential processes: these being not only activated by self-reference and rest but also showing increased activity in self-reference versus rest. We examined the neural network properties of the identified 'core-self' DMN regions-in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and inferior parietal lobule-using dynamic causal modeling. The optimal model identified was one in which self-related processes were driven via PCC activity and moderated by the regulatory influences of MPFC. We thus confirm the significance of these regions for self-related processes and extend our understanding of their functionally specialized roles.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 84
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- 20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis Neuron May 10, 2023
- Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness Frontiers in Psychology September 4, 2018
- Self unbound: ego dissolution in psychedelic experience Neuroscience of Consciousness 2017
- Me, myself, bye: regional alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin. Neuropsychopharmacology November 1, 2020
and 79 more in the library
Cites 6
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Journal of Neuroscience September 18, 2013
- Consistency and functional specialization in the default mode brain network Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences July 15, 2008
and 1 more in the library