Isolated from input: Evidence of default mode network support for perceptually-decoupled and conceptually-guided cognition
Charlotte Murphy, Elizabeth Jefferies, Shirley-Ann Rueschemeyer, Mladen Sormaz, Hao-ting Wang, Daniel S. Margulies, Jonathan Smallwood
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Task-based functional neuroimaging study |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key points | Bilateral angular gyri and the left middle temporal gyrus responded most strongly when cognition combined stimulus independence with multi-modal information, and showed stronger responses to demanding memory judgments than to an easier perceptual task. The authors argue these regions sit at the extreme transmodal end of a macroscale sensorimotor-to-transmodal gradient, suggesting that isolation from specific sensory inputs enables conceptually rich cognitive states. |
Abstract
Abstract: The default mode network supports a variety of mental operations such as semantic processing, episodic memory retrieval, mental time travel and mind-wandering, yet the commonalities between these functions remains unclear. One possibility is that this system supports cognition that is independent of the immediate environment; alternatively or additionally, it might support higher-order conceptual representations that draw together multiple features. We tested these accounts using a novel paradigm that separately manipulated the availability of perceptual information to guide decision-making and the representational complexity of this information. Using task based imaging we established regions that respond when cognition combines both stimulus independence with multi-modal information. These included left and right angular gyri and the left middle temporal gyrus. Although these sites were within the default mode network, they showed a stronger response to demanding memory judgements than to an easier perceptual task, contrary to the view that they support automatic aspects of cognition. In a subsequent analysis, we showed that these regions were located at the extreme end of a macroscale gradient, which describes gradual transitions from sensorimotor to transmodal cortex. This shift in the focus of neural activity towards transmodal, default mode, regions might reflect a process of isolation from specific sensory inputs that enables conceptually rich cognitive states to be generated in the absence of input. Highlights: Brain regions supporting meaning overlap with stimulus independence. Bilateral angular gyri and left MTG respond strongly to both features of cognition. These patterns reflect a shift in activity towards regions of transmodal cortex. Complex memory representations may emerge in cortical areas distant from input.
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 4
- Establishing task- and modality-dependent dissociations between the semantic and default mode networks Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 8, 2015
- Shaped by the Past: The Default Mode Network Supports Cognition that Is Independent of Immediate Perceptual Input PLoS One June 30, 2015
- The role of the default mode network in component processes underlying the wandering mind Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience March 21, 2017
- Default mode network connectivity during task execution Neuroimage July 26, 2015