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Wandering Minds: The Default Network and Stimulus-Independent Thought
Malia F. Mason,1*Michael I. Norton,2John D. Van Horn,1Daniel M. Wegner,3Scott T. Grafton,1C. Neil Macrae4
Despite evidence pointing to a ubiquitous tendency of humanminds to wander, little is known about the neural operationsthat support this core component of human cognition. Using boththought sampling and brain imaging, the current investigationdemonstrated that mind-wandering is associated with activityin a default network of cortical regions that are active whenthe brain is "at rest." In addition, individuals' reports ofthe tendency of their minds to wander were correlated with activityin 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.
Present address: Department of Neurology, University of California,Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:
In Science Magazine
TECHNICAL COMMENTS
Sam J. Gilbert, Iroise Dumontheil, Jon S. Simons, Chris D. Frith, and Paul W. Burgess (6 July 2007) Science317 (5834), 43b.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1140801] |Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
TECHNICAL COMMENTS
Malia F. Mason, Michael I. Norton, John D. Van Horn, Daniel M. Wegner, Scott T. Grafton, and C. Neil Macrae (6 July 2007) Science317 (5834), 43c.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1141078] |Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
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