The surprising role of the default mode network in naturalistic perception
Talia Brandman, R. Malach, E. Simony
Communications Biology May 20, 2020 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01602-z (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants who watched a short movie |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | The default mode network's coactivation is selectively correlated with surprise, not with other cognitive states like emotion or vividness. |
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
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
Cited by 9
- The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world Nature Reviews Neuroscience January 22, 2021
- The thalamocortical inhibitory network controls human conscious perception Neuroimage November 9, 2022
- The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelics on Reducing Rumination: A Mini-Review. Psychedelic Medicine September 1, 2024
- Dopamine Compensates for Amyloid-Induced Default Mode Network Dysfunction to Support Learning bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) July 10, 2026
- Default mode network activity is related to efficiency in a combined motion error and gambling task. Scientific Reports January 6, 2026
and 4 more 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