Persistent operational synchrony within brain default-mode network and self-processing operations in healthy subjects.
Andrew A Fingelkurts, Alexander A Fingelkurts
Brain and Cognition March 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2010.11.015 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key points | The authors argue that the default-mode network shows a task-unrelated, persistent spatio-temporal pattern of functional connectivity across cognitive tasks, contrary to the view that it deactivates during attention-demanding tasks. Re-analysis of two earlier studies identified three components: two symmetrical occipito-parieto-temporal patterns and one frontal pattern. They propose this supports the DMN's role in self-processing, including first-person perspective taking and agency. |
Abstract
Based on the theoretical analysis of self-consciousness concepts, we hypothesized that the spatio-temporal pattern of functional connectivity within the default-mode network (DMN) should persist unchanged across a variety of different cognitive tasks or acts, thus being task-unrelated. This supposition is in contrast with current understanding that DMN activated when the subjects are resting and deactivated during any attention-demanding cognitive tasks. To test our proposal, we used, in retrospect, the results from our two early studies (Fingelkurts, 1998; Fingelkurts et al., 2003). In both studies for the majority of experimental trails we indeed found a constellation of operationally synchronized cortical areas (indexed as DMN) that was persistent across all studied experimental conditions in all subjects. Furthermore, we found three major elements comprising this DMN: two symmetrical occipito-parieto-temporal and one frontal spatio-temporal patterns. This new data directly supports the notion that DMN has a specific functional connotation - it provides neurophysiologic basis for self-processing operations, namely first-person perspective taking and an experience of agency.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default-mode, ego-functions and free-energy: a neurobiological account of Freudian ideas | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cooperation between the default mode network and the frontal–parietal network in the production of an internal train of thought | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 15
- 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
- The temporal structure of resting-state brain activity in the medial prefrontal cortex predicts self-consciousness Neuropsychologia January 21, 2016
- Selfhood triumvirate: From phenomenology to brain activity and back again. Consciousness and Cognition November 1, 2020
- Patients with Disorders of Consciousness: Are They Nonconscious, Unconscious, or Subconscious? Expanding the Discussion. Brain Sciences May 17, 2023
- Self, Me, or I? Unravelling the Triumvirate of Selfhood in Pathological Consciousness. Brain Sciences June 13, 2025
and 10 more in the library
Cites 15
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Cerebral Cortex April 9, 2008
- Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Human Brain Mapping January 24, 2008
- 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
- Intrinsic Brain Activity in Altered States of Consciousness Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences May 1, 2008
and 10 more in the library