The Surprising Role of the Default Mode Network
Talia Brandman, R. Malach, E. Simony.
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants watching a short movie |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | DMN coactivation was selectively correlated with the cognitive state of surprise across movie events, not with other cognitive states, and this effect was specific to the DMN. |
Abstract
Abstract The default mode network (DMN) is a group of high-order brain regions recently implicated in processing external naturalistic events, yet it remains unclear what cognitive function it serves. Here we identified the cognitive states predictive of DMN fMRI coactivation. Particularly, we developed a state-fluctuation pattern analysis , matching network coactivations across a short movie with retrospective behavioral sampling of movie events. Network coactivation was selectively correlated with the state of surprise across movie events, compared to all other cognitive states (e.g. emotion, vividness). The effect was exhibited in the DMN, but not dorsal attention or visual networks. Furthermore, surprise was found to mediate DMN coactivations with hippocampus and nucleus accumbens. These unexpected findings point to the DMN as a major hub in high-level prediction-error representations.
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 5
- 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
- Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Nature Communications July 18, 2016
- Dark control: The default mode network as a reinforcement learning agent Human Brain Mapping June 5, 2020
- Functional connectivity in the resting brain: A network analysis of the default mode hypothesis Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences December 27, 2002