Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) exhibit early alterations in the Default Mode Network (DMN), a key brain network involved in episodic memory where the precuneus plays a central role. Precision-targeted, non-invasive brain stimulation represents a promising strategy to improve cognitive function in individuals with dementia. The DMN can be modulated through personalized non-invasive...
BACKGROUND: Migraine is highly heterogeneous, and patients exhibit substantial variability in their responses to preventive treatment. The dose-escalation strategy of topiramate further complicates early evaluation of therapeutic efficacy. Identifying neurobiological markers that can predict treatment response is therefore essential for individualized therapy. In this study, we constructed...
medRxivJuly 14, 2026Kristian Stefanov, Joel T. Parkinson, Flavia Sunzini et al.
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Abstract Nociplastic pain represents a major burden across immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). It is hypothesised, but not yet demonstrated, that peripheral inflammation promotes nociplastic pain by bottom-up sensitisation of the central nervous system (CNS). In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a prototypic IMID, we used ultra–high field (7T) brain resting-state functional MRI to evaluate...
Throughout the preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD) β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulates preferentially within the default mode network (DMN), yet the functional and behavioural consequences of this pathological burden remain poorly understood. Using task-based fMRI combined with Aβ, tau, and dopamine PET in cognitively normal older adults, we show that Aβ burden impairs learning independent of...
Research SquareJuly 7, 2026Ioanna Spanou, Efstratios Karavasilis, Foteini Christidi et al.
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Abstract Background Migraine patients are prone to nocebo responses, that hinder treatment adherence. Identifying neurobiological markers of nocebo proneness could help predict and mitigate these adverse effects. Methods This prospective three-arm randomized explorative trial examined default mode network (DMN) connectivity changes during the interictal state and an anxiety-induced nocebo...
The default mode network (DMN)—positioned on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus, and the angular gyrus, beside medial temporal and lateral temporal aids—was originally distinguished by its high resting activity and its deactivation during externally focused tasks. Although emotion has traditionally been associated with subcortical and limbic...
Abstract: The Default Mode Network (DMN) is reshaping cognitive neuroscience, offering fresh insights into high-level cognitive processes and the relationship between the humanities and the natural sciences. This article explores how neuroscientific research on the DMN can inform a neurosemiotic approach. It builds on Duarte’s recent proposal (2020; 2022) to associate the activities of this...
While most theories regarding Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis adopt a “neurocentric” perspective, increasing evidence suggests that nonneuronal cells may be a primary site of pathogenesis in early stage AD. Several years prior to the appearance of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), functional connectivity (FC) changes can be observed in the human cingulate cortex, a...
Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI) has been associated with functional alterations in the default mode network (DMN), which contains critical hubs in the entire brain network. Previous studies have predicted that hub disruption leads to widespread network alterations; however, whether DMN functional connectivity mediates the relationship between PUI and global network topology remains...
Research suggests that ADHD is characterized by dominant Default-Mode Network (DMN) and diminished Task Positive Network (TPN) activity, which has been linked to detrimentally affecting attention and executive task-dependent functioning. Interventions targeting this DMN-TPN interplay may be clinically important in ameliorating ADHD symptoms. This hypothesis was explored using frequency and...