The surprising role of the default mode network in naturalistic perception

The default mode network (DMN), a set of high-order brain regions, is selectively correlated with the cognitive state of surprise when people watch a short movie. This effect was specific to the DMN and not seen in dorsal attention or visual networks. Surprise also mediated DMN coactivations with the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens, suggesting the DMN acts as a hub for high-level prediction-error representations, important for updating internal narrative representations.

Study at a glance

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. Brandman et al compared fMRI coactivations and behavioral responses across participants who watched the same short movie. They demonstrated that the default mode network plays a central role in the representation of surprise – a process which is important for updating internal narrative representations