The functional convergence and heterogeneity of social, episodic, and self-referential thought in the default mode network
Tanya Wen, Daniel J Mitchell, John Duncan
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Functional neuroimaging experiment |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | The authors report that six different task contrasts produced broadly similar whole-brain activity maps and some response in all three proposed DMN subsystems. Analyses showed partial functional separation, much of it matching proposed dorsal medial prefrontal and medial temporal lobe subsystems, but found less support for common activity across anterior and posterior midline core regions. They propose that distributed DMN components work together to assemble contextual components of a cognitive situation or episode. |
Abstract
Abstract: The default mode network (DMN) is engaged in a variety of cognitive settings, including social, semantic, temporal, spatial, and self-related tasks. Andrews-Hanna et al. (2010, 2012) proposed that the DMN consists of three distinct functional-anatomical subsystems – a dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC) subsystem that supports social processing and introspection about mental states; a medial temporal lobe (MTL) subsystem that contributes to memory retrieval and construction of mental scenes; and a set of midline core hubs that are involved in processing self-referential information. We examined activity in the DMN subsystems during six different tasks: (1) theory of mind and (2) moral dilemmas (for social cognition), (3) autobiographical memory and (4) spatial navigation (for memory-based construction/simulation), (5) self/other adjective judgement (for self-related cognition), and finally, (6) a rest condition compared to a working memory task. At a broad level, we observed similar whole-brain activity maps for the six contrasts, and some response to every contrast in each of the three subsystems. In more detail, both univariate analysis and multivariate activity patterns showed partial functional separation, much of it in close accord with the proposals of separate dMPFC and MTL subsystems, though with less support for common activity across anterior and posterior regions of a midline core. Integrating social, spatial, self-related, and other aspects of a cognitive situation or episode, multiple components of the DMN may work closely together to provide the broad context for current mental activity. Significance Statement: Activity in the default mode network (DMN) can been found across a wide range of high-level tasks that involve social, semantic, episodic, or self-referential cognition. Given this diversity, an important proposal is that the DMN can be parcellated into subsystems with different cognitive functions. The current experiment employed a wide range of experimental tasks to directly test for functional convergence and heterogeneity between DMN regions. The results support both partial differentiation and integration; working together, distributed DMN regions may assemble the multiple contextual components of a cognitive situation or episode.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study using resting-state fMRI and seed correlation analysis | |
| Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2009 | Experimental study using fMRI | |
| Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Human subjects | 2016 | Experimental study | |
| Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Healthy human participants | 2013 | Experimental study | |
| The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network Human observers | 2012 | Observational study with fMRI and behavioral analysis |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience July 6, 2009
- On the relationship between the “default mode network” and the “social brain” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Recruitment of the default mode network during a demanding act of executive control Elife April 13, 2015
and 2 more in the library