The default network and self-generated thought: component processes, dynamic control, and clinical relevance
- PMID: 24502540
- PMCID: PMC4039623
- DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12360
The default network and self-generated thought: component processes, dynamic control, and clinical relevance
Abstract
Though only a decade has elapsed since the default network (DN) was first defined as a large-scale brain system, recent years have brought great insight into the network's adaptive functions. A growing theme highlights the DN as playing a key role in internally directed or self-generated thought. Here, we synthesize recent findings from cognitive science, neuroscience, and clinical psychology to focus attention on two emerging topics as current and future directions surrounding the DN. First, we present evidence that self-generated thought is a multifaceted construct whose component processes are supported by different subsystems within the network. Second, we highlight the dynamic nature of the DN, emphasizing its interaction with executive control systems when regulating aspects of internal thought. We conclude by discussing clinical implications of disruptions to the integrity of the network, and consider disorders when thought content becomes polarized or network interactions become disrupted or imbalanced.
Keywords: autobiographical; default; mind-wandering; psychopathology; self; social.
© 2014 New York Academy of Sciences.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4039623/bin/nihms553303f1.gif)
![Figure 2](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4039623/bin/nihms553303f2.gif)
![Figure 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4039623/bin/nihms553303f3.gif)
![Figure 4](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4039623/bin/nihms553303f4.gif)
![Figure 5](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4039623/bin/nihms553303f5.gif)
Similar articles
-
Shaped by our thoughts--a new task to assess spontaneous cognition and its associated neural correlates in the default network.Brain Cogn. 2015 Feb;93:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2014.11.001. Epub 2014 Nov 18. Brain Cogn. 2015. PMID: 25463243
-
Dynamic network interactions supporting internally-oriented cognition.Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2016 Oct;40:86-93. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2016.06.014. Epub 2016 Jul 13. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2016. PMID: 27420377 Review.
-
Cooperation between the default mode network and the frontal-parietal network in the production of an internal train of thought.Brain Res. 2012 Jan 5;1428:60-70. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2011.03.072. Epub 2011 Apr 3. Brain Res. 2012. PMID: 21466793 Review.
-
Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 26;106(21):8719-24. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0900234106. Epub 2009 May 11. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009. PMID: 19433790 Free PMC article.
-
Neural Responses to Heartbeats in the Default Network Encode the Self in Spontaneous Thoughts.J Neurosci. 2016 Jul 27;36(30):7829-40. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0262-16.2016. J Neurosci. 2016. PMID: 27466329 Free PMC article.
Cited by
-
The promise of precision functional mapping for neuroimaging in psychiatry.Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 Jul 31. doi: 10.1038/s41386-024-01941-z. Online ahead of print. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024. PMID: 39085426 Review.
-
Exciting the social butterfly: Anodal cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation modulates neural activation during predictive social mentalizing.Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2024 Jul-Sep;24(3):100480. doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100480. Epub 2024 Jul 4. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2024. PMID: 39055855 Free PMC article.
-
Acute psychosocial stress modulates neural and behavioral substrates of cognitive control.Hum Brain Mapp. 2024 Jun 1;45(8):e26716. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26716. Hum Brain Mapp. 2024. PMID: 38798117 Free PMC article.
-
Mindfulness and inhibitory control: Insights from the stop signal task with neutral and reward-associated stimuli.PLoS One. 2024 May 22;19(5):e0303384. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303384. eCollection 2024. PLoS One. 2024. PMID: 38776292 Free PMC article.
-
Information-based TMS to mid-lateral prefrontal cortex disrupts action goals during emotional processing.Nat Commun. 2024 May 20;15(1):4294. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-48015-8. Nat Commun. 2024. PMID: 38769359 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Schooler JW, et al. Meta-awareness, perceptual decoupling and the wandering mind. Trends Cogn Sci. 2011;15:319–326. - PubMed
-
- Smallwood J. Distinguishing how from why the mind wanders: A process–occurrence framework for self-generated mental activity. Psychol Bull. 2013;139:519–535. - PubMed
-
- Baird B, et al. Inspired by distraction: Mind wandering facilitates creative incubation. Psychol Sci. 2012;23:1117–1122. - PubMed
-
- Killingsworth MA, Gilbert DT. A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science. 2010;330:932. - PubMed
-
- Smallwood J, Schooler JW. The restless mind. Psychol Bull. 2006;132:946–958. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources