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Situation model manipulations differently engage semantic and default mode networks during narrative comprehension.

Erica Adezati, Melissa Thye, Shubhangi Butta, Luca Pecchioli, Paul Hoffman, Daniel Mirman

Cortex April 19, 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2026.04.005 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study Peer reviewed
Topics Default mode network
Keywords Nerve net Humans Magnetic resonance imaging Brain mapping Narration Language Reading Semantics Female Young adult Semantic cognition Situation model Anterior temporal lobe Narrative comprehension
Key points Relative to adding new information to a situation model, using and reconfiguring the model tended to elicit greater activation in default mode network regions (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus) and bilateral superior, middle, and inferior anterior temporal lobe. Social versus non-social stories engaged partly distinct regions for adding/using and reconfiguring. The authors propose a framework for coordination between the anterior temporal lobe and default mode network during narrative comprehension.

Abstract

Narrative comprehension involves creating a mental representation of the events of the story: a "situation model". Maintaining a situation model is thought to be supported by the Default Mode Network (DMN), but recent work suggests that the semantic system, and specifically the ventrolateral anterior temporal lobe (ATL), may play a role in reflecting on and restructuring the situation model via internally-driven or endogenous semantic processing. The present study used fMRI to investigate how ATL and DMN brain regions respond under varying exogenous, or input-driven, and endogenous processing demands when reading social and non-social stories. We studied neural responses to three types of situation model manipulation: 1) add-incorporating new information into the situation model, 2) use-using the information in the situation model to support comprehension of narrative language input, and 3) reconfigure-restructuring the situation model. Relative to add, the use and reconfigure manipulations tended to elicit greater activation in regions of the DMN, including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, as well as the bilateral superior, middle and inferior ATL. Relative to non-social stories, add and use manipulations in social stories engaged the left anterior middle and superior temporal gyri and inferior parietal lobule (IPL), whereas reconfigure manipulations engaged the right superior, middle and inferior frontal gyri and IPL. The present results inform a developing framework for coordination between the ATL and DMN during narrative comprehension.

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

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