Sender-receiver subdivisions of the default mode network in perceptual and memory-guided cognition.

The brain's default mode network (DMN) contains spatially distinct subregions that support different cognitive processes: some DMN areas are more active during perceptual decisions about faces, while others are more active during memory-guided decisions based on previously seen images. These subregions differ in their connectivity profiles—perception-related areas have receiver-like, afferent-biased connections across the heteromodal cortex, whereas memory-related areas have sender-like, efferent-biased connections with perceptual-motor and attentional systems beyond the DMN. This double dissociation, found across three fMRI datasets, suggests that DMN architecture is organized to flexibly support both external perception and internal memory-guided thought.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Everyday cognition depends on the brain's capacity to shift between sensing the external world and constructing it from memory. To achieve this, large-scale cortical systems must flexibly integrate incoming sensory signals with internally generated representations. Here, we show that this flexibility is reflected in the macroscale architecture of the default mode network (DMN). Using convergent analyses across three independent fMRI datasets spanning directional connectivity, intrinsic organization, and task-evoked responses, we identify spatially distinct DMN subregions that are preferentially engaged during perceptual decisions about faces or memory-guided decisions based on previously seen images. These subregions correspond to a microarchitectural distinction, captured via directional and intrinsic connectivity profiles: regions preferentially engaged during face perception align with receiver-like, afferent-biased zones that show strong intrinsic connectivity across the heteromodal cortex, a profile that might support information integration during perceptually guided decision-making. In contrast, memory-guided, perceptually decoupled decisions differentially engage sender-like, efferent-biased zones that show broader connectivity with perceptual-motor and attentional systems beyond the DMN. This double dissociation demonstrates a systematic association between DMN connectivity and engagement during perceptually coupled versus memory-guided cognitive processes, providing an organizational account of how DMN architecture relates to flexible human thought.