Tasks activating the default mode network map multiple functional systems
Lorenzo Mancuso, Sara Cavuoti-Cabanillas, Donato Liloia, Jordi Manuello, Giulia Buzi, Franco Cauda, T. Costa
Brain Structure and Function February 18, 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02467-0 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Meta-analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | The default mode network's activation patterns form a continuous anatomo-psychological gradient from internal to external functions, challenging the traditional intrinsic-extrinsic dichotomy. |
Abstract
Recent developments in network neuroscience suggest reconsidering what we thought we knew about the default mode network (DMN). Although this network has always been seen as unitary and associated with the resting state, a new deconstructive line of research is pointing out that the DMN could be divided into multiple subsystems supporting different functions. By now, it is well known that the DMN is not only deactivated by tasks, but also involved in affective, mnestic, and social paradigms, among others. Nonetheless, it is starting to become clear that the array of activities in which it is involved, might also be extended to more extrinsic functions. The present meta-analytic study is meant to push this boundary a bit further. The BrainMap database was searched for all experimental paradigms activating the DMN, and their activation likelihood estimation maps were then computed. An additional map of task-induced deactivations was also created. A multidimensional scaling indicated that such maps could be arranged along an anatomo-psychological gradient, which goes from midline core activations, associated with the most internal functions, to that of lateral cortices, involved in more external tasks. Further multivariate investigations suggested that such extrinsic mode is especially related to reward, semantic, and emotional functions. However, an important finding was that the various activation maps were often different from the canonical representation of the resting-state DMN, sometimes overlapping with it only in some peripheral nodes, and including external regions such as the insula. Altogether, our findings suggest that the intrinsic–extrinsic opposition may be better understood in the form of a continuous scale, rather than a dichotomy.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The wandering brain: Meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies of mind-wandering and related spontaneous thought processes | 2015 | Meta-analysis | |
| Investigating the Functional Heterogeneity of the Default Mode Network Using Coordinate-Based Meta-Analytic Modeling | 2009 | Meta-analysis | |
| The Default Mode Network in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy individuals | 2016 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| Dreaming as mind wandering: evidence from functional neuroimaging and first-person content reports. | 2013 | Systematic review with meta-analytic comparison | |
| Default Mode Network Modulation by Psychedelics: A Systematic Review Participants from included studies | 2022 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 8
- 20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis Neuron May 10, 2023
- The default mode network: A transmodal cortical system for enhancing cognition and sharing mental worlds in language-specific, culturally diverse ways. Cortex February 14, 2026
- Default mode network activity is related to efficiency in a combined motion error and gambling task. Scientific Reports January 6, 2026
- Functions of the posterior cingulate cortex and default network Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences June 20, 2025
- Transcendental philosophical and neuroscientific theories of consciousness Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences March 4, 2025
and 3 more in the library
Cites 25
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Human Brain Mapping January 24, 2008
- Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience July 6, 2009
- The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 5, 2021
and 20 more in the library