Insulation for Daydreams: A Role for Tonic Norepinephrine in the Facilitation of Internally Guided Thought
Jonathan Smallwood, Kevin Brown, Benjamin Baird, Michael D. Mrazek, Michael S. Franklin, Jonathan W. Schooler
PLoS One April 6, 2012 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033706 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants |
| Keywords | Tonic physiology Facilitation Perception Cognition Consciousness Arousal Cognitive psychology Audiology |
| Citations | 92 |
| Key findings | Between-participant variance in task-unrelated thoughts is associated with longer response times when target presentation occurs during periods of increased baseline pupil diameter, suggesting high tonic norepinephrine activity may facilitate such thoughts. |
Abstract
Although consciousness can be brought to bear on both perceptual and internally generated information, little is known about how these different cognitive modes are coordinated. Here we show that between-participant variance in thoughts unrelated to the task being performed (known as task unrelated thought, TUT) is associated with longer response times (RT) when target presentation occurs during periods when baseline Pupil Diameter (PD) is increased. As behavioral interference due to high baseline PD can reflect increased tonic activity in the norepinephrine system (NE), these results might implicate high tonic NE activity in the facilitation of TUTs. Based on these findings, it is hypothesised that high tonic mode NE leads to a generalised de-amplification of task relevant information that prioritses internally generated thought and insulates it from the potentially disruptive events taking place in the external environment.