Attention Shifts Recruit the Monkey Default Mode Network
John T. Arsenault, Natalie Caspari, Rik Vandenberghe, Wim Vanduffel
Journal of Neuroscience January 31, 2018 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1111-17.2017 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Functional neuroimaging study in nonhuman primates Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Female and male macaques |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key points | The authors propose that cognitive shifting in primates generally recruits default mode network regions. A cortical network activated during spatial attention shifts largely overlapped with the DMN, independently defined DMN foci showed significant shift selectivity, and DMN and shift regions clustered together in resting-state data, whereas stay-event regions clustered apart. |
Abstract
A unifying function associated with the default mode network (DMN), which is more active during rest than under active task conditions, has been difficult to define. The DMN is activated during monitoring the external world for unexpected events, as a sentinel, and when humans are engaged in high-level internally focused tasks. The existence of DMN correlates in other species, such as mice, challenge the idea that internally focused, high-level cognitive operations, such as introspection, autobiographical memory retrieval, planning the future, and predicting someone else's thoughts, are evolutionarily preserved defining properties of the DMN. A recent human study demonstrated that demanding cognitive shifts could recruit the DMN, yet it is unknown whether this holds for nonhuman species. Therefore, we tested whether large changes in cognitive context would recruit DMN regions in female and male nonhuman primates. Such changes were measured as displacements of spatial attentional weights based on internal rules of relevance (spatial shifts) compared with maintaining attentional weights at the same location (stay events). Using fMRI in macaques, we detected that a cortical network, activated during shifts, largely overlapped with the DMN. Moreover, fMRI time courses sampled from independently defined DMN foci showed significant shift selectivity during the demanding attention task. Finally, functional clustering based on independent resting state data revealed that DMN and shift regions clustered conjointly, whereas regions activated during the stay events clustered apart. We therefore propose that cognitive shifting in primates generally recruits DMN regions. This might explain a breakdown of the DMN in many neurological diseases characterized by declined cognitive flexibility. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTActivation of the human default mode network (DMN) can be measured with fMRI when subjects shift thoughts between high-level internally directed cognitive states, when thinking about the self, the perspective of others, when imagining future and past events, and during mind wandering. Furthermore, the DMN is activated as a sentinel, monitoring the environment for unexpected events. Arguably, these cognitive processes have in common fast and substantial changes in cognitive context. As DMN activity has also been reported in nonhuman species, we tested whether shifts in spatial attention activated the monkey DMN. Core monkey DMN and shift-selective regions shared several functional properties, indicating that cognitive shifting, in general, might constitute one of the evolutionarily preserved functions of the DMN.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rat brains also have a default mode network Rats | 2012 | Observational study | |
| Large-scale topology and the default mode network in the mouse connectome Mouse brain | 2014 | Observational study | |
| Hippocampal Sharp-Wave Ripples Influence Selective Activation of the Default Mode Network Anesthetized monkeys | 2016 | Observational study | |
| Psilocybin-induced default mode network hypoconnectivity is blunted in alcohol-dependent rats Healthy rats and a rat model of alcohol relapse | 2023 | Randomized, placebo-controlled crossover pharmaco-fMRI study | |
| Altered functional connectivity within the default mode network in two animal models with opposing episodic memories Rats (control, LPS-challenged, and footshock-exposed groups) | 2018 | Animal model study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Optogenetic stimulation of anterior insular cortex neurons in male rats reveals causal mechanisms underlying suppression of the default mode network by the salience network. Nature Communications February 16, 2023
- Dissociations between glucose metabolism and blood oxygenation in the human default mode network revealed by simultaneous PET-fMRI Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 30, 2021
- An evolutionary gap in primate default mode network organization Cell Reports March 16, 2021
- Optogenetic stimulation of anterior insular cortex neurons reveals causal mechanisms underlying suppression of the default mode network by the salience network
Cites 7
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Human Brain Mapping January 24, 2008
- On the relationship between the “default mode network” and the “social brain” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Rat brains also have a default mode network Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences February 21, 2012
- Large-scale topology and the default mode network in the mouse connectome Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences December 15, 2014
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