Default mode network can support the level of detail in experience during active task states
Mladen Sormaz, Charlotte Murphy, Hao-ting Wang, Mark Hymers, Theodoros Karapanagiotidis, Giulia Poerio, Daniel S. Margulies, Elizabeth Jefferies, Jonathan Smallwood
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences August 27, 2018 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1721259115 (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study with fMRI and self-report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants performing working-memory tasks in an fMRI scanner |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Citations | 291 |
| Key findings | The default mode network contributes to detailed, task-relevant cognition during working-memory maintenance, not just off-task thought. |
Abstract
Regions of transmodal cortex, in particular the default mode network (DMN), have historically been argued to serve functions unrelated to task performance, in part because of associations with naturally occurring periods of off-task thought. In contrast, contemporary views of the DMN suggest it plays an integrative role in cognition that emerges from its location at the top of a cortical hierarchy and its relative isolation from systems directly involved in perception and action. The combination of these topographical features may allow the DMN to support abstract representations derived from lower levels in the hierarchy and so reflect the broader cognitive landscape. To investigate these contrasting views of DMN function, we sampled experience as participants performed tasks varying in their working-memory load while inside an fMRI scanner. We used self-report data to establish dimensions of thought that describe levels of detail, the relationship to a task, the modality of thought, and its emotional qualities. We used representational similarity analysis to examine correspondences between patterns of neural activity and each dimension of thought. Our results were inconsistent with a task-negative view of DMN function. Distinctions between on- and off-task thought were associated with patterns of consistent neural activity in regions adjacent to unimodal cortex, including motor and premotor cortex. Detail in ongoing thought was associated with patterns of activity within the DMN during periods of working-memory maintenance. These results demonstrate a contribution of the DMN to ongoing cognition extending beyond task-unrelated processing that can include detailed experiences occurring under active task conditions.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study using resting-state fMRI and seed correlation analysis | |
| Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2009 | Experimental study using fMRI | |
| Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Human subjects | 2016 | Experimental study | |
| Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Healthy human participants | 2013 | Experimental study | |
| The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network Human observers | 2012 | Observational study with fMRI and behavioral analysis |
Citations in the library
Cited by 43
- The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 5, 2021
- Left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex supports context-dependent prioritisation of off-task thought Nature Communications August 23, 2019
- The neural correlates of ongoing conscious thought iScience February 2, 2021
- The relationship between individual variation in macroscale functional gradients and distinct aspects of ongoing thought Neuroimage June 22, 2020
- Ongoing Brain Activity and Its Role in Cognition: Dual versus Baseline Models The Neuroscientist May 25, 2022
and 38 more in the library
Cites 12
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Not all minds that wander are lost: the importance of a balanced perspective on the mind-wandering state Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Neural Correlates of Ongoing Conscious Experience: Both Task-Unrelatedness and Stimulus-Independence Are Related to Default Network Activity PLoS One February 14, 2011
and 7 more in the library