Linking brain networks and behavioral variability to different types of mind-wandering

Research focusing on mind-wandering (MW) has consistently shown that this mental state is accompanied by variable, error-prone behavior and increased activity within the default mode network (DMN) and the frontoparietal control network (FPN) (1⇓⇓⇓⇓–6). Given that the DMN has been implicated in internal mentation such as future planning or self-referential processing, whereas the FPN has been linked to cognitive control, the idea that activity within both networks is coupled with self-reported MW and poor behavioral performance has been widely accepted in this research field. In an intriguing new study in PNAS, Kucyi et al. (7) challenge this view by showing that hemodynamic responses in the …