The role of the default mode network in component processes underlying the wandering mind
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience March 21, 2017 Giulia L. Poerio, Mladen Sormaz, Hao-ting Wang et al. 185 citations
Mind-wandering involves cognition detached from the immediate environment. The default mode network (DMN), a set of brain regions far from sensory and motor areas, is implicated but its exact role is unclear. This study examined how individual differences in resting-state DMN connectivity relate to performance on memory, social, and planning tasks and to variability in spontaneous thought. Poor external engagement was linked to stronger coupling between medial and dorsal DMN subsystems, while decoupling of the core from the cerebellum predicted detailed memory retrieval. Both patterns predicted off-task future thoughts. The DMN supports stimulus-independent cognition through strong subsystem coupling and allows memory representations to form conscious experience.