Lesion network mapping demonstrates that mind‐wandering is associated with the default mode network

Abstract

Functional neuroimaging research has consistently associated brain structures within the default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal network (FPN) with mind‐wandering. Targeted lesion research has documented impairments in mind‐wandering after damage to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampal regions associated with the DMN. However, no lesion studies to date have applied lesion network mapping to identify common networks associated with deficits in mind‐wandering. In lesion network mapping, resting‐state functional connectivity data from healthy participants are used to infer which brain regions are functionally connected to each lesion location from a sample with brain injury. In the current study, we conducted a lesion network mapping analysis to test the hypothesis that lesions affecting the DMN and FPN would be associated with diminished mind‐wandering. We assessed mind‐wandering frequency on the Imaginal Processes Inventory (IPI) in participants with brain injury (n = 29) and healthy comparison participants without brain injury (n = 19). Lesion network mapping analyses showed the strongest association of reduced mind‐wandering with the left inferior parietal lobule within the DMN. In addition, traditional lesion symptom mapping results revealed that reduced mind‐wandering was associated with lesions of the dorsal, ventral, and anterior sectors of mPFC, parietal lobule, and inferior frontal gyrus in the DMN (p < 0.05 uncorrected). These findings provide novel lesion support for the role of the DMN in mind‐wandering and contribute to a burgeoning literature on the neural correlates of spontaneous cognition.

Predicting lapses of attention with sleep-like slow waves

“…Relevant to our local sleep interpretation, the DMN is also suggested to be involved in dream generation during sleep, consistent with the idea that the DMN supports a broad array of experiences that are decoupled from the environment 47 . Furthermore, lesions within the DMN are associated with a decrease in both MW 48 and mind dreaming 49 . However, recent findings suggest a complex relationship between the DMN and spontaneous experiences.…”

Predicting lapses of attention with sleep-like slow waves

“…Relevant to our local sleep interpretation, the DMN is also suggested to be involved in dream generation during sleep, consistent with the idea that the DMN supports a broad array of experiences that are decoupled from the environment 48 . Furthermore, lesions within the DMN are associated with a decrease in both mind wandering 49 and dreaming 50 . However, recent findings suggest a complex relationship between the DMN and spontaneous experiences.…”

A Legion of Lesions: The Neuroscientific Rout of Higher-Order Thought Theory

“…A first reason comes from the numerous cases in neuropsychology where damage to individual network nodes creates significant functional deficits. For some examples: Attentional deficits result from damage to the frontal-eye fields, intraparietal sulcus, temporo-parietal sulcus, or the middle frontal gyrus (Bartolomeo, 2021;Karnath, 2015;Ptak & Schnider, 2011;Toba et al, 2018); deficits in gaze shift result from damage to either areas in the posterior parietal cortex or in the dorsal premotor cortex (Ptak et al, 2017); and deficits in mind-wandering results from damage to the parietal lobule, the inferior frontal gyrus, or the dorsal, ventral, or anterior medial PFC (Philippi et al, 2021). 12 Consider now that, with HOT-producing networks in particular, there is even stronger reason to expect damage to individual nodes to cause functional deficits, since so much must be in place before a HOT can be successfully formed: A HOT requires concepts, representing mental states, representing oneself, and representing mental states as states of oneself.…”