International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology
April 23, 2026
Deepanshu Bansal
Water-based contemplative practices—from full-body underwater meditation to ice baths, breath-hold training, and mindful immersion near lakes or oceans—are associated with profound psychological and physiological benefits. While most mindfulness literature emphasizes silencing the Default Mode Network (DMN), emerging evidence suggests a more nuanced truth: the DMN does not need to be turned...
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
April 22, 2026
Youssef Bellaali, Dominika Sulcova, Adriana Salatino et al.
Introduction: Self-referential processes are suspected to rely on the default mode network (DMN), particularly the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). The right PCC, has been implicated in self-awareness, with neuroimaging studies showing its involvement in anosognosia in Alzheimer’s disease. However, causal evidence linking right PCC activity to DMN synchrony in humans remains scarce. This study...
Neuroimage
April 22, 2026
Kia Puustinen, Jitske Vandersmissen, Tin Gojevic et al.
Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder linked to an increased risk for neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment. The current study set out to explore a wide range of indirect markers of neuronal function via proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to help elucidate the link between altered glucose metabolism and neurodegeneration. Method: Adults...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 19, 2026
Wijn Mart
preprint
AbstractThis paper presents a model of consciousness grounded in hemispheric lateralization and theDefault Mode Network (DMN). Building on McGilchrist's Master/Emissary framework,Schore's developmental neuroscience, and Porges' polyvagal theory, it argues that the righthemisphere constitutes primary consciousness (Type 1) while the left hemisphere constructsthe narrative self (Type 2). The DMN...
Cortex
April 19, 2026
Erica Adezati, Melissa Thye, Shubhangi Butta et al.
Narrative comprehension involves creating a mental representation of the events of the story: a "situation model". Maintaining a situation model is thought to be supported by the Default Mode Network (DMN), but recent work suggests that the semantic system, and specifically the ventrolateral anterior temporal lobe (ATL), may play a role in reflecting on and restructuring the situation model via...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 18, 2026
Inna Alieksieienko
preprint
This record contains the full replication package for "Default Mode Network Geometry Emerges in Language Model Residual Streams From Next-Token Prediction on Agentive Text: A Universal Topological Signature Across 10 Architectures" (Alieksieienko, 2026). We report that the geometric topology of epistemic representations in transformer language model residual streams mirrors the functional...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 15, 2026
Italo Luigi de Paoli
preprint
AbstractWe present CORTEX, a biologically-inspired neural platform implementing two mechanisms derived from neuroscience that have not previously been demonstrated in artificial systems: (1) a Default Mode Network (DMN) that consolidates learned patterns through unsupervised internal replay during idle periods, and (2) a neurochemical adaptive router that reduces Large Language Model...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 15, 2026
Can Chen
preprint
This study aims to explore the neurophysiological mechanisms of the "awakening" state, defined as a shift in consciousness from Default Mode Network dominance to second-order observation. Based on neurophenomenological theory, we hypothesize that awakening manifests physiologically as DMN inhibition, increased cortical excitability, and high energy efficiency. Clinical EEG data from a subject...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
April 14, 2026
Meichao Zhang, Casey Paquola, Katya Krieger-Redwood et al.
Everyday cognition depends on the brain's capacity to shift between sensing the external world and constructing it from memory. To achieve this, large-scale cortical systems must flexibly integrate incoming sensory signals with internally generated representations. Here, we show that this flexibility is reflected in the macroscale architecture of the default mode network (DMN). Using convergent...
BMC Psychology
April 14, 2026
Kaihua Zhang, Yingli Gao, Qi Hu et al.
BACKGROUND: In the postpartum period, postpartum women experience numerous brain structural and functional changes. Functional neuroimaging studies have focused on the responses of the maternal brain to infant stimuli ; however, the connectivity of the maternal brain remains to be explored. We aimed to examine the differences in functional connectivity patterns between postpartum women and...
Frontiers in Psychology
April 10, 2026
Naoyuki Osaka, Takehiro Minamoto, Ken Yaoi et al.
Consciousness in Zen meditation has garnered considerable interest in psychology and neuroscience, particularly in relation to its association with enhanced self-awareness. Zen meditation fosters social harmony by addressing mental and social conflicts, linking individuals to various societal aspects through the practice. This meditation, rooted in Buddhism, aims to perceive thoughts without...
Preprints.org
April 7, 2026
Luis Miguel Gallardo
preprint
Altered states of consciousness (ASC) represent a universal human capacity for accessing and transforming the subconscious mind, employed across cultures and millennia through diverse contemplative, somatic, pharmacological, ritual, and technological modalities. This comprehensive review synthesizes evidence from over 25 distinct disciplines spanning five clusters: (A) contemplative and...
Research Square
April 6, 2026
Morio Aki, Naoya Oishi, Sayaka Yoshimura et al.
preprint
Abstract Increasing multiculturalism and globalization have increased the discrepancies between sociallyshared norms and personal values. This study investigated whether Cultural Estrangement (CE) and self-esteem (SE) interact to influence functional connectivity (FC) in the default mode network (DMN). In total, 170 healthy Japanese adults (18–70 years) were recruited, 70 of whom completed the...
Vavilovskii zhurnal genetiki i selektsii
April 1, 2026
Andrey V. Bocharov, Alexander N. Savostyanov, Sergey Tamozhnikov et al.
Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism is important in the regulation of the serotoninergic system that affects mood and the regulation of emotions and behavior. In this study, 128 channel electroencephalogram recordings were performed, and buccal epithelium samples were obtained from 53 volunteers (32 females). La , Lg , and S alleles were identified by polymerase chain reaction. The aim of...
Human Brain Mapping
April 1, 2026
Paweł Orłowski, Aleksandra Domagalik, Michał Bola
Classic psychedelics profoundly alter emotional states, inducing intense acute experiences lasting hours, followed by subtler, longer-lasting changes in emotional reactivity that can persist for weeks. While experimental and clinical studies document these prolonged effects, the highly context-dependent nature of psychedelic experiences leaves open the question of whether naturalistic,...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
March 31, 2026
(曹方石) Cao Fangshi
preprint
Abstract This paper presents a first-person qualitative case study of an individual with extraordinarily high dream recall frequency, sustained high‑narrative dreaming, and unconscious creative dreaming—a rare and understudied phenotype in sleep and cognitive science. The participant (also the author) consistently experiences long, coherent, plot‑driven dreams with distinct characters,...
Alzheimer S and Dementia Diagnosis Assessment and Disease Monitoring
March 30, 2026
Darren M. Lipnicki, Meritxell Valenti, Elizabeth Lucia Valeriano‐Lorenzo et al.
1 citation
Abstract INTRODUCTION Dreaming is subserved by the default mode network (DMN) and can be abolished by focal lesions within key regions. DMN dysfunction is promoted by pre‐clinical Alzheimer's pathology and apolipoprotein E ( APOE ) ε4 carriage, but any effects of these on dreaming are unknown. METHODS Associations between dream recall and APOE ε4 carriage and blood phosphorylated tau (p‐tau)...
Brain Topography
March 27, 2026
Yan Zeng, Yongjia Shao, Di Zhou et al.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is regarded a potential early stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and associated with a significantly increased risk of progression to AD. This study aims to evaluate whole-brain static functional connectivity (SFC) disruptions with the default mode network (DMN) seed points in patients with MCI by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), and...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
March 27, 2026
Morgan Rose Healey, Yaser Sanchez-Gama, Mengyuan Ding et al.
preprint
Abstract Self-transcendence, the reorientation of experience away from the self toward others, nature, or broader meaning, is a fundamental dimension of human psychology, yet its causal neural architecture remains poorly understood. Here we applied lesion network mapping to 88 neurosurgical patients with pre- and post-operative assessments of trait self-transcendence to identify the distributed...
Neuroimage
March 25, 2026
Fabrizio Parente, Tiziana Pedale, Ilenia Salsano et al.
The Default Mode Network (DMN) is a large-scale intrinsic brain network critically involved in internally oriented cognition, including autobiographical memory. Core DMN regions such as the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex are central to memory retrieval, schema construction and self-referential processing. Individuals with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) provide a unique...