Story, Daydreams, and the Default Mode Network.
Richard Brockman
Psychodynamic psychiatry June 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1521/pdps.2026.54.2.188 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Functional connectivity Innate alarm system Posttraumatic stress disorder |
| Key points | Proposes that Freud's psychoanalysis functioned as an observational tool that revealed operations of the default mode network, and that in PTSD, disrupted functional connectivity in the DMN and alarm system alters time perception, safety, and narrative. |
Abstract
When Freud invented/discovered psychoanalysis, he devised not just a theory of mind but also a tool that enabled him to observe the "mind." And with the tool of psychoanalysis, he was able to observe the workings of the default mode network (DMN) some hundred years before anyone knew of its existence. Since then, various operations of the DMN have been identified. One is the integration of perception into memory through the process of functional connectivity. In posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) there is significant pathology in functional connectivity involving multiple brain networks-especially the DMN and the intrinsic alarm system. This article addresses the causes and consequences of this pathophysiology as it relates to the sense of time, safety, and story in PTSD.
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 | |
| Cooperation between the default mode network and the frontal–parietal network in the production of an internal train of thought | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |