Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality
Human Brain Mapping January 24, 2008 Lucina Q. Uddin, A.M. Clare Kelly, Bharat B. Biswal et al. 1,198 citations
The default mode network (DMN), which is most active when the mind is at rest, is often treated as a single system, but its two main hubs—the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)—interact with different task-focused brain networks. Using resting-state fMRI and a seed correlation approach, activity in vmPFC negatively predicted activity in networks for visual spatial and temporal attention, while activity in PCC negatively predicted activity in motor control circuits. Granger causality analyses indicated that vmPFC and PCC exert greater influence on their anticorrelated networks than the reverse, suggesting these DMN nodes may directly modulate task-positive networks. The DMN is thus more heterogeneous than commonly appreciated.