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The brain's default network: updated anatomy, physiology and evolving insights.
Randy L Buckner1,2,3,4, Lauren M DiNicola5,6
1Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. randy_buckner@harvard.edu.
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience
|September 8, 2019
Summary
The brain's default network is not a single entity but multiple interwoven networks. These networks support internal thought processes and may be implicated in mental illness.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- The default network, located in association cortex, is active during internal thought and suppressed during external attention.
- Recent research suggests a more complex organization than previously understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the organization and function of networks within the default network.
- To explore the competitive interactions between internally and externally oriented brain networks.
Main Methods:
- High-resolution analyses of individual brains.
- Direct neuronal recordings in humans and monkeys.
- Review of rodent studies on thalamic control.
Main Results:
- The default network comprises multiple interwoven networks, not a single one.
- These networks share an organizational motif supporting internally constructed representations.
- Evidence suggests competitive interactions between internal and external networks.
- Specialized thalamic neurons may control network engagement.
Conclusions:
- The default network's complex organization supports specialized processing domains.
- Expanded association networks in humans may be vulnerable to mental illness.
- Thalamocortical circuits play a crucial role in regulating network engagement.