Distinctive and Complementary Roles of Default Mode Network Subsystems in Semantic Cognition
Ximing Shao, Katya Krieger-Redwood, Meichao Zhang, Paul Hoffman, Lucilla Lanzoni, Robert Leech, Jonathan Smallwood, Elizabeth Jefferies
Journal of Neuroscience April 8, 2024 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1907-23.2024 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Cognition Mode computer interface Semantic network Cognitive psychology Cognitive science Natural language processing Human–computer interaction |
| Citations | 20 |
| Key findings | DMN subsystems show distinctive and complementary responses during semantic cognition: frontotemporal and medial temporal subsystems activate to support memory-based representations accessed externally and internally, while core DMN deactivates during demanding external semantic tasks. |
Abstract
The default mode network (DMN) typically deactivates to external tasks, yet supports semantic cognition. It comprises medial temporal (MT), core, and frontotemporal (FT) subsystems, but its functional organization is unclear: the requirement for perceptual coupling versus decoupling, input modality (visual/verbal), type of information (social/spatial), and control demands all potentially affect its recruitment. We examined the effect of these factors on activation and deactivation of DMN subsystems during semantic cognition, across four task-based human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets, and localized these responses in whole-brain state space defined by gradients of intrinsic connectivity. FT showed activation consistent with a central role across domains, tasks, and modalities, although it was most responsive to abstract, verbal tasks; this subsystem uniquely showed more "tuned" states characterized by increases in both activation and deactivation when semantic retrieval demands were higher. MT also activated to both perceptually coupled (scenes) and decoupled (autobiographical memory) tasks and showed stronger responses to picture associations, consistent with a role in scene construction. Core DMN consistently showed deactivation, especially to externally oriented tasks. These diverse contributions of DMN subsystems to semantic cognition were related to their location on intrinsic connectivity gradients: activation was closer to the sensory-motor cortex than deactivation, particularly for FT and MT, while activation for core DMN was distant from both visual cortex and cognitive control. These results reveal distinctive yet complementary DMN responses: MT and FT support different memory-based representations that are accessed externally and internally, while deactivation in core DMN is associated with demanding, external semantic tasks.
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 2
- Longitudinal Changes in Hippocampal-Default Mode Network Connectivity and Cognition During Electroacupuncture Intervention in Type 2 Diabetes-Associated Cognitive Decline: A Pilot Resting-State fMRI Study. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience September 21, 2026
- The default mode network: A transmodal cortical system for enhancing cognition and sharing mental worlds in language-specific, culturally diverse ways. Cortex February 14, 2026
Cites 10
- 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
- The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 5, 2021
- Distant from input: Evidence of regions within the default mode network supporting perceptually-decoupled and conceptually-guided cognition Neuroimage January 12, 2018
- Establishing task- and modality-dependent dissociations between the semantic and default mode networks Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 8, 2015
and 5 more in the library