Resting-state EEG functional networks organization and individual differences in the task-unrelated thoughts: Greater Mind-Wanderers exhibit weaker default mode network integration
Paweł Krukow, Kamil Jonak
Research Square June 21, 2022 preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1727417/v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study comparing groups based on self-reported dispositional mind wandering |
|---|---|
| Population | Normal adults |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | Participants who tend to mind wander often showed decreased synchronization within the default mode network and strengthened connectivity between task-related networks of diverse functional specificity. The authors suggest this pattern may reflect an atypical resting-state brain organization that translates into attenuated resources for maintaining attentional control during tasks. |
Abstract
When performing cognitively demanding tasks, we all sometimes experience a momentary distractions or our stream of consciousness is intercepted by personal associations. This phenomenon is called Mind Wandering (MW) and it became a subject of neuroscientific investigations. Off-task thoughts can be analyzed during task performance, but currently MW is also understood as a dimension of individual differences in cognitive processing. We wanted to recognize the intrinsically-organized functional networks which could be considered as the neuronal basis for the MW dispositional variability. To achieve this goal we have recruited a group of normal adults, the group was eventually divided in half on the basis of participants scores on the scale measuring dispositional MW. Next, these groups were compared regarding arrangement of preselected intrinsic functional networks which were reconstructed on the basis of multi-channel signal-source resting-state EEG. It appeared that subjects who tend to mind wander often exhibited decreased synchronization within the default mode network, and simultaneously strengthened connectivity between ‘on-task’ networks of diverse functional specificity. Such within- and between networks integrity patterns might suggest that greater Mind Wanderers have atypical organization of resting-state brain activity which may translate into attenuated resources needed to maintain attentional control in task-related conditions.
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
Cites 9
- 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
- The wandering brain: Meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies of mind-wandering and related spontaneous thought processes Neuroimage February 25, 2015
- Left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex supports context-dependent prioritisation of off-task thought Nature Communications August 23, 2019
- The role of the default mode network in component processes underlying the wandering mind Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience March 21, 2017
and 4 more in the library