Probing the neural signature of mind wandering with simultaneous fMRI-EEG and pupillometry
Mind wandering reflects the shift in attentional focus from task-related cognition driven by external stimuli toward self-generated and internally-oriented thought processes. Although such task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) are pervasive and detrimental to task performance, their underlying neural mecha...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-01-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920308971 |
| _version_ | 1830488283125121024 |
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| author | Josephine M Groot Nya M Boayue Gábor Csifcsák Wouter Boekel René Huster Birte U Forstmann Matthias Mittner |
| author_facet | Josephine M Groot Nya M Boayue Gábor Csifcsák Wouter Boekel René Huster Birte U Forstmann Matthias Mittner |
| author_sort | Josephine M Groot |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mind wandering reflects the shift in attentional focus from task-related cognition driven by external stimuli toward self-generated and internally-oriented thought processes. Although such task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) are pervasive and detrimental to task performance, their underlying neural mechanisms are only modestly understood. To investigate TUTs with high spatial and temporal precision, we simultaneously measured fMRI, EEG, and pupillometry in healthy adults while they performed a sustained attention task with experience sampling probes. Features of interest were extracted from each modality at the single-trial level and fed to a support vector machine that was trained on the probe responses. Compared to task-focused attention, the neural signature of TUTs was characterized by weaker activity in the default mode network but elevated activity in its anticorrelated network, stronger functional coupling between these networks, widespread increase in alpha, theta, delta, but not beta, frequency power, predominantly reduced amplitudes of late, but not early, event-related potentials, and larger baseline pupil size. Particularly, information contained in dynamic interactions between large-scale cortical networks was predictive of transient changes in attentional focus above other modalities. Together, our results provide insight into the spatiotemporal dynamics of TUTs and the neural markers that may facilitate their detection. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T19:16:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2b997aacb7e94f14925ff3b809821ed9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1095-9572 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T19:16:18Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage |
| spelling | doaj.art-2b997aacb7e94f14925ff3b809821ed92022-12-21T18:53:03ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722021-01-01224117412Probing the neural signature of mind wandering with simultaneous fMRI-EEG and pupillometryJosephine M Groot0Nya M Boayue1Gábor Csifcsák2Wouter Boekel3René Huster4Birte U Forstmann5Matthias Mittner6Department of Psychology, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1001 NK Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, NorwayDepartment of Psychology, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, NorwayInstitute of Psychology, Leiden University, 2333 AK Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0317 Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1001 NK Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway; Corresponding author.Mind wandering reflects the shift in attentional focus from task-related cognition driven by external stimuli toward self-generated and internally-oriented thought processes. Although such task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) are pervasive and detrimental to task performance, their underlying neural mechanisms are only modestly understood. To investigate TUTs with high spatial and temporal precision, we simultaneously measured fMRI, EEG, and pupillometry in healthy adults while they performed a sustained attention task with experience sampling probes. Features of interest were extracted from each modality at the single-trial level and fed to a support vector machine that was trained on the probe responses. Compared to task-focused attention, the neural signature of TUTs was characterized by weaker activity in the default mode network but elevated activity in its anticorrelated network, stronger functional coupling between these networks, widespread increase in alpha, theta, delta, but not beta, frequency power, predominantly reduced amplitudes of late, but not early, event-related potentials, and larger baseline pupil size. Particularly, information contained in dynamic interactions between large-scale cortical networks was predictive of transient changes in attentional focus above other modalities. Together, our results provide insight into the spatiotemporal dynamics of TUTs and the neural markers that may facilitate their detection.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920308971Mind wanderingDefault mode networkSimultaneous fMRI-EEGDynamic functional connectivityPupillometrySupport vector machine |
| spellingShingle | Josephine M Groot Nya M Boayue Gábor Csifcsák Wouter Boekel René Huster Birte U Forstmann Matthias Mittner Probing the neural signature of mind wandering with simultaneous fMRI-EEG and pupillometry NeuroImage Mind wandering Default mode network Simultaneous fMRI-EEG Dynamic functional connectivity Pupillometry Support vector machine |
| title | Probing the neural signature of mind wandering with simultaneous fMRI-EEG and pupillometry |
| title_full | Probing the neural signature of mind wandering with simultaneous fMRI-EEG and pupillometry |
| title_fullStr | Probing the neural signature of mind wandering with simultaneous fMRI-EEG and pupillometry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Probing the neural signature of mind wandering with simultaneous fMRI-EEG and pupillometry |
| title_short | Probing the neural signature of mind wandering with simultaneous fMRI-EEG and pupillometry |
| title_sort | probing the neural signature of mind wandering with simultaneous fmri eeg and pupillometry |
| topic | Mind wandering Default mode network Simultaneous fMRI-EEG Dynamic functional connectivity Pupillometry Support vector machine |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920308971 |
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