Investigating Multiple Streams of Consciousness: Using Descriptive Experience Sampling to Explore Internally and Externally Directed Streams of Thought.
Charles Fernyhough, Ben Alderson-Day, Russell T. Hurlburt, Simone Kühn
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience December 6, 2018 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00494 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 5 |
| Population | Five Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) participants |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | FMRI Resting state Dorsal attention network Stimulus-independent thought Mind-wandering Frontal-parietal network |
| Key findings | Internal versus external experience samples were associated with a network of regions linked to the default mode network, in line with existing models. Regions of interest from whole-brain contrasts predicted independent raters' forced-choice categorizations of samples with a simultaneous internal and external focus. The authors argue the work demonstrates how DES can tie resting-state neural activations to detailed descriptions of specific phenomenology. |
Abstract
Research into resting-state cognition has often struggled with the challenge of assessing inner experience in the resting state. We employed Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES), a method aimed at generating detailed and high-fidelity descriptions of experience, to investigate how experience in the resting state can vary between internal, external, and multiple simultaneous streams. Using a large body of experiential and brain activation data acquired from five DES participants, independent raters classified sampled moments of experience according to whether they were internally directed, externally directed, or contained elements of both at the same time. In line with existing models, comparison of internal with external experience samples identified a network of regions associated with the default mode network. Regions of interest resulting from the whole-brain contrasts successfully predicted independent raters' forced-choice categorizations of samples for which experience had a simultaneous internal and external focus. The present study is distinctive in tying neural activations in the resting state to detailed descriptions of specific phenomenology, and in demonstrating how the DES method enables a particularly nuanced analysis of moments of experience, especially their ability simultaneously to incorporate both an internal and an external focus. The study represents an integration of rich phenomenology and characterizations of brain activity, tracing interpretive paths from phenomenology to neural activation and vice versa.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effortless awareness: using real time neurofeedback to investigate correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators' self-report Meditators | 2013 | Qualitative study using grounded theory methodology | |
| Too Fast or Too Slow? Time and Neuronal Variability in Bipolar Disorder—A Combined Theoretical and Empirical Investigation | 2017 | Theoretical and empirical approach combining phenomenological, psychological, and neuroscientific accounts | |
| Exploring Dynamic Thought Patterns using fMRI and Experience Sampling | 2025 | Neurophenomenological study | |
| The Creative Brain: Exploring the Connection Between Neuroscience and the Creative Process | 2026 | Qualitative literature review | |
| THE ROLE OF THE SALIENCE NETWORK AND THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING | 2023 | Qualitative study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Spontaneous thought orientation tracked by fMRI networks and EEG alpha power dynamics bioRxiv Preprint Server October 31, 2025
- Empirical Phenomenological Psychopathology: Aims, Methods, and Explanatory Relevance. Psychopathology May 21, 2026
- Inner speech as language process and cognitive tool. Trends in Cognitive Sciences December 2023
- Phenomenology of Visuo-spatial Working Memory Task Performance November 12, 2021
- Fluctuations of Attentional Networks and Default Mode Network during the Resting State Reflect Variations in Cognitive States: Evidence from a Novel Resting-state Experience Sampling Method Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 2017
and 2 more in the library
Cites 9
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- On the relationship between the “default mode network” and the “social brain” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Two Distinct Neuronal Networks Mediate the Awareness of Environment and of Self Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience June 1, 2010
- Cooperation between the default mode network and the frontal–parietal network in the production of an internal train of thought Brain Research April 15, 2011
- Auditory Hallucinations and the Brain’s Resting-State Networks: Findings and Methodological Observations Schizophrenia Bulletin June 8, 2016
and 4 more in the library