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Science 19 January 2007:
Vol. 315. no. 5810, pp. 393 - 395
DOI: 10.1126/science.1131295
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Reports

Wandering Minds: The Default Network and Stimulus-Independent Thought

Malia F. Mason,1*§ Michael I. Norton,2 John D. Van Horn,1{dagger} Daniel M. Wegner,3 Scott T. Grafton,1{ddagger} C. Neil Macrae4

Despite evidence pointing to a ubiquitous tendency of human minds to wander, little is known about the neural operations that support this core component of human cognition. Using both thought sampling and brain imaging, the current investigation demonstrated that mind-wandering is associated with activity in a default network of cortical regions that are active when the brain is "at rest." In addition, individuals' reports of the tendency of their minds to wander were correlated with activity in this network.

1 Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
2 Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02163, USA.
3 Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
4 School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2UB, Scotland.

* Present address: Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

{ddagger} Present address: Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.

§ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: malia{at}nmr.mgh.harvard.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)