Mind-wandering: mechanistic insights from lesion, tDCS, and iEEG.

Trends Cogn Sci

Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.

Published: March 2022

Cognitive neuroscience has witnessed a surge of interest in investigating the neural correlates of the mind when it drifts away from an ongoing task and the external environment. To that end, functional neuroimaging research has consistently implicated the default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal control network (FPCN) in mind-wandering. Yet, it remains unknown which subregions within these networks are necessary and how they facilitate mind-wandering. In this review, we synthesize evidence from lesion, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and intracranial electroencephalogram (iEEG) studies demonstrating the causal relevance of brain regions, and providing insights into the neuronal mechanism underlying mind-wandering. We propose that the integration of complementary approaches is the optimal strategy to establish a comprehensive understanding of the neural basis of mind-wandering.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9166901PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2021.12.005DOI Listing

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