Default mode network

Identified a baseline state of brain function with uniform oxygen extraction fraction, where deviations are deactivations primarily in the visual system, suggesting an organized default mode of brain function.

observational study

Reviews evidence that the default mode network consists of discrete cortical areas across species and consistently decreases activity during attention-demanding tasks compared to rest.

review

Found that resting-state functional connectivity reflects structural connectivity, as shown by correspondence between functional connectivity maps and diffusion tensor imaging tractography within the default mode network.

observational cohort

Meditation practitioners had greater cortical thickness in the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula compared to controls, with the prefrontal difference most pronounced in older participants.

observational cohort Sample size: 20

Reviews evidence that the default mode network is hyperactivated and hyperconnected in schizophrenia and depression, potentially contributing to overly intensive self-reference and negative rumination.

review

Experienced meditators showed deactivation of default-mode network nodes and stronger functional connectivity between self-monitoring and cognitive control regions, consistent with reduced mind-wandering.

observational cohort

Argues that the psychedelic state is a primary state of consciousness defined by elevated entropy and criticality in brain function, with normal waking consciousness suppressing entropy to enable metacognitive functions.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Found that the precuneus/posterior cingulate region exhibited strong interactions with the rest of the default mode network, while medial temporal lobes interacted strongly with each other but weakly with other regions.

observational study

Found that the two major nodes of the default mode network, vmPFC and PCC, are functionally differentiated, with each anticorrelated with distinct task-positive brain networks.

observational study using resting-state fMRI and seed correlation analysis

Psilocybin decreases cerebral blood flow and BOLD signal in hub regions like the thalamus, ACC, and PCC, and reduces mPFC-PCC connectivity, with the magnitude of ACC/mPFC decrease predicting subjective effect intensity.

within-subjects, placebo-controlled, task-free fMRI study Sample size: 30

Found a common pattern of neural activation underlying autobiographical remembering, prospection, and theory-of-mind reasoning in the default mode network, with differential engagement of midline versus lateral DMN regions.

experimental study using fMRI

Proposes that understanding the topographic characteristics of the default mode network can help clarify how it contributes to cognition and behavior.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Argues that the default mode network integrates memory, language, and semantic representations to create a coherent internal narrative that is central to the sense of self and human consciousness.

review

Found that the salience network drives the switching between the default mode network and the central executive network, using dynamic causal modelling on two independent datasets.

observational study

Reviews evidence that the default mode network is activated by social cognition tasks, overlapping with social brain networks, and that a DMN exists in non-human primates.

review

TTH patients showed decreased network homogeneity in the right PCC and increased NH in other DMN regions, with NH values correlating with headache severity, and SVM using right PCC NH distinguished TTH from controls with 75.57% accuracy.

observational cohort Sample size: 131

Active iTBS increased functional connectivity between the left caudal middle frontal gyrus target and distributed default mode network regions, but associative memory performance did not improve; visuospatial working memory improved.

case study Sample size: 1

Proposes that AI-Augmented Cognitive Offloading, using custom AI agent pipelines as an external cognitive exocortex, can address high-functioning CPTSD by systematically capturing and externalizing high-voltage internal associations.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Found that the default mode network distinguishes self from other during counterfactual language comprehension, as evidenced by multivariate EEG decoding and large language model analyses.

observational study

Found that stress increases metabolic demands and functional integration within the default mode network, indicating that stress reorganizes DMN activity.

observational study

Argues that the default mode network is crucial for sensory perception and that integrating multisensory networks may promote psychological stability, proposing that sensory environment design could support wellness and happiness.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Self-esteem moderated the association between cultural estrangement and DMN–right lateral parietal resting-state connectivity: at high self-esteem the correlation was positive, at low self-esteem negative; no significant main effects of age, sex, cultural estrangement, or self-esteem alone.

observational cohort (cross-sectional) Sample size: 170

Presents a framework for linguistic semantic diversity based on oscillation dynamics and default mode network coupling, but the abstract does not specify empirical findings.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Argues that the DMN in modern adults sustains a chronically hyperactive self-referential attractor state (PDA), an evolutionary mismatch, and that standard resting-state baselines are contaminated by this phenomenon.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Found that higher default mode network connectivity is associated with greater attentional capture by a distractor dimension carrying learned spatial regularity, suggesting DMN involvement in modulating attention based on learned regularities.

observational cohort