Challenging the notion of a task-negative network: default mode network involvement under varying levels of cognitive effort
Sarah Weber, André Aleman, Kenneth Hugdahl
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | The default mode network is gradually up- and down-regulated depending on cognitive demand and contributes to low-effort processing alongside the extrinsic mode network, challenging its characterization as solely task-negative. |
Abstract
Abstract Everyday cognitive functioning is characterized by constant alternations between different modes of information processing, driven by fluctuations in environmental demands. At the neural level, this is realized through corresponding dynamic shifts in functional activation and network connectivity. A distinction is often made between the Default Mode Network (DMN) as a task-negative network that is upregulated in the absence of cognitive demands, and task-positive networks that are upregulated when cognitive demands such as attention and executive control are present. Such networks have been labelled the Extrinsic Mode Network (EMN). We investigated changes in brain activation and functional network connectivity during repeated alternations between levels of cognitive effort. Using fMRI and a block-design Stroop paradigm, participants switched back and forth between periods of no effort (resting), low effort (word reading, automatic processing) and high effort (color naming, cognitive control). Results showed expected EMN-activation for task versus rest, and likewise expected DMN-activation for rest versus task. The DMN was also more strongly activated during low effort contrasted with high effort, suggesting a gradual up- and down-regulation of the DMN, depending on the level of demand. The often reported “anti-correlation” between DMN and EMN was only present during periods of low effort, indicating intermittent contributions of both networks. These results challenge the traditional view of the DMN as solely a task-negative network. Instead, the present results suggest that both EMN and DMN may contribute to low-effort cognitive processing. In contrast, periods of resting and high effort are dominated by the DMN and EMN, respectively.
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 8
- 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
- Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Human Brain Mapping January 24, 2008
- The Default Mode Network in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Brain Connectivity December 5, 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
and 3 more in the library