The arrow of time of brain signals in cognition: Potential intriguing role of parts of the default mode network
Network Neuroscience December 23, 2022 Gustavo Deco, Yonatan Sanz Perl, Laura de la Fuente et al. 43 citations
The default mode network (DMN) may coordinate the recruitment and scheduling of brain networks for solving cognitive tasks, supported by evidence that DMN regions are physically and functionally distant from sensorimotor areas. Using a thermodynamics-inspired, deep learning-based Temporal Evolution NETwork (TENET) framework to measure the 'arrow of time'—a marker of nonreversibility and hierarchy in brain signals—analysis of Human Connectome Project data from nearly a thousand participants suggests the DMN orchestrates hierarchy levels that shift between rest and seven cognitive tasks. This hierarchy differs significantly in health versus neuropsychiatric disorders, offering insights into brain dynamics for cognition.