Default But Not Rest: Topological Discrimination Defines the Default Mode Network
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants |
| Interventions | topological discrimination tasks local geometric discrimination tasks |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | The Topological Discrimination Network (TDN) and the default mode network (DMN) consist of essentially the same brain regions, and topological discrimination fMRI responses in those regions show consistent temporal dynamics with resting state. |
Abstract
Abstract The default mode network (DMN), a set of transmodal cortical regions, has historically been argued to serve the internal functions of brain. The discovery of this network highlighted the brain’s intrinsic operations. The DMN generally decreases its activity during tasks and increases its activity during relaxed non-task states. It is important to investigate the nature of the DMN in order to understand the human brain in health and disease. In the current study, we discovered a task-related cortical network we called the Topological Discrimination Network (TDN), which was consistently revealed by contrasting activations from topological discrimination tasks with local geometric discrimination tasks. The TDN and the DMN consist of essentially the same group of brain regions and the fMRI response of topological discrimination in those regions exhibited consistent temporal dynamics with resting state. The robustness of the TDN is supported by multiple experiments performed at different field strengths (3T and 7T MRI scanner) as well as different types of signals measured (BOLD and CBF). The collective results suggest that the process of topological discrimination could almost be considered as a functional “default mode” of our brain. The TDN, like the DMN, could define the functional baseline of brain, with the advantage of functional consistency across participants and experimental sessions.
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
Cites 6
- 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
- Mapping the self in the brain's default mode network Neuroimage February 15, 2016
- Default mode network can support the level of detail in experience during active task states Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences August 27, 2018
- Distant from input: Evidence of regions within the default mode network supporting perceptually-decoupled and conceptually-guided cognition Neuroimage January 12, 2018
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