Default mode network shows distinct emotional and contextual responses yet common effects of retrieval demands across tasks
Nicholas Souter, Antonia De Freitas, Meichao Zhang, Ximing Shao, Tirso Rene Del Jesus Gonzalez Alam, Haakon Engen, Jonathan Smallwood, Katya Krieger-Redwood, Elizabeth Jefferies
bioRxiv October 2, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.30.560279 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Functional neuroimaging study (fMRI) |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key points | Retrieving contextual versus emotional associations engaged distinct DMN subnetworks: fronto-temporal regions showed a preference for emotional associations and medial temporal regions for contextual associations. Switching to a new association for the same picture recruited clusters closer to the heteromodal apex of the principal gradient, with no difference between association types, suggesting a common response to retrieval demands. |
Abstract
The default mode network (DMN) lies towards the heteromodal end of the principal gradient of intrinsic connectivity, maximally separated from sensory-motor cortex. It supports memory-based cognition, including the capacity to retrieve conceptual and evaluative information from sensory inputs, and to generate meaningful states internally; however, the functional organisation of DMN that can support these distinct modes of retrieval remains unclear. We used fMRI to examine whether activation within subsystems of DMN differed as a function of retrieval demands, or the type of information to be retrieved, or both. In a picture association task, participants retrieved two types of semantic features about contexts and emotions: in the generate phase, these associations were retrieved from a novel picture, while in a switch phase, participants retrieved a new association for the same image. Semantic context and emotion trials were associated with dissociable DMN subnetworks, indicating that a key dimension of DMN organisation relates to the type of information being accessed. The fronto-temporal and medial temporal DMN showed a preference for emotional and contextual associations, respectively. Relative to the generate phase, the switch phase recruited clusters closer to the heteromodal apex of the principal gradient – a cortical hierarchy separating unimodal and heteromodal regions. There were no differences in this effect between association types. Instead, memory switching was associated with a distinct subnetwork associated with controlled internal cognition. These findings delineate distinct patterns of DMN recruitment for different kinds of associations yet common responses across tasks that reflect retrieval demands. Key points: Retrieval of contextual and emotional features relies on distinct default mode subnetworks. Novelty of visual input has an equivalent effect across default mode subnetworks. Secondary associations retrieved from re-presented pictures activate heteromodal end of the principal gradient.
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 |