A default mode of brain function: A brief history of an evolving idea

Summary & key facts

This paper tells the story of how scientists discovered a reliable pattern of brain activity that shows up when people are not doing a specific task. That pattern, called the brain's "default mode," involves a few connected brain areas that stay active during rest and drop activity when we focus on the outside world. The authors explain how this idea grew from basic imaging findings into a larger idea that the brain has organized, ongoing activity that relates to daydreaming, remembering, and thinking about ourselves. They also say this activity seems to differ in some brain disorders, which makes it important for understanding mental health, but the idea is still being refined.

Key facts:

• Researchers noticed, across many brain scans, that the same group of brain areas stayed active when people were resting and reduced activity when people did tasks that required attention.
• The set of areas that form the default mode include parts of the middle front of the brain and parts near the back and sides; these areas often show linked activity even when no task is happening.
• Scientists now think the default mode helps with internal mental work like remembering the past, imagining the future, and thinking about yourself, rather than processing things happening right now in the outside world.
• The default mode uses a lot of the brain's energy, which suggested to researchers that this ongoing activity is important and not just random noise.
• Studies have found differences in this default-mode activity or its connections in people with some mental health conditions, which is why researchers study it as a possible window into those conditions, but those links do not prove cause and effect.

Topics

Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies Neural dynamics and brain function

Categories

Cognitive Neuroscience Life Sciences Neuroscience

Tags

Brain activity and meditation Brain function Cognitive psychology Default mode network Electroencephalography Environmental health Fixation (population genetics) Functional connectivity Functional neuroimaging Medicine Neuroimaging Neuroscience Population Psychology Resting state fMRI

Conditions & symptoms

Depression Difficulty focusing Feeling disconnected from others