Cooperation between the default mode network and the frontal–parietal network in the production of an internal train of thought
Jonathan Smallwood, Kevin Brown, Ben Baird, Jonathan W. Schooler
Brain Research April 15, 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2011.03.072 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Citations | 394 |
| Key points | Proposes that internally guided thought is produced through cooperation between the default mode network and a frontal-parietal control network. |
Abstract
The ability to generate and sustain an internal train of thought unrelated to external reality frees an agent from the constraints of only acting on immediate, environmentally triggered events. The current paper proposes that such thought is produced through cooperation between autobiographical information provided by the default mode network and a frontal-parietal control network which helps sustain and buffer internal trains of thought against disruption by the external world. This hypothesis explains at least two features of the literature on internally guided thought. First, access to the top-down control system is a generally accepted prerequisite of conscious experience; this explains why activation of this system and default mode activity is often observed together during periods of internally guided thought. Second, because the top-down attentional control system has a limited capacity, internally and externally driven streams can come into conflict, with the result that perceptual information must be denied attentional amplification if the internal stream is to be maintained. This explains why internal thought is routinely associated with a state of perceptual decoupling, reflected in both measured anticorrelations between the default mode network and sensory areas and the manner in which task unrelated thoughts compromise task performance. This paper offers a hypothesis that should help to constrain and guide interpretations, investigations, and analyses of the neural processes involved in internally driven cognition. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Special Issue The Cognitive Neuroscience.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default-mode, ego-functions and free-energy: a neurobiological account of Freudian ideas | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Mechanisms of Psychedelic Visionary Experiences: Hypotheses from Evolutionary Psychology | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 49
- Dynamical exploration of the repertoire of brain networks at rest is modulated by psilocybin. Neuroimage May 25, 2019
- Shaped by the Past: The Default Mode Network Supports Cognition that Is Independent of Immediate Perceptual Input PLoS One June 30, 2015
- The Decoupled Mind: Mind-wandering Disrupts Cortical Phase-locking to Perceptual Events Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience April 17, 2014
- The myth of cognitive agency: subpersonal thinking as a cyclically recurring loss of mental autonomy. Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Escaping the here and now: Evidence for a role of the default mode network in perceptually decoupled thought Neuroimage December 20, 2012
and 44 more in the library
Cites 12
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience July 6, 2009
- Neural Correlates of Ongoing Conscious Experience: Both Task-Unrelatedness and Stimulus-Independence Are Related to Default Network Activity PLoS One February 14, 2011
- Why the global availability of mind wandering necessitates resource competition: Reply to McVay and Kane (2010). Psychological Bulletin March 1, 2010
and 7 more in the library