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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection
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Published on: August 26, 2011

Real-time fMRI-triggered experience-sampling: a proof-of-concept study.

Tiara Bounyarith1, David Braun1, Aaron Kucyi1

  • 1Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA - USA.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|May 25, 2026
PubMed
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This study introduces real-time fMRI-triggered experience-sampling (rt-fMRI-ES) to precisely study spontaneous thoughts. The new method successfully linked posteromedial cortex activity to reduced external attention during wakeful rest.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Spontaneous thoughts are a major part of mental life but are difficult to study.
  • Previous methods using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) lack temporal precision in capturing brain activity related to thoughts.
  • A more precise method is needed to link neural activity with subjective experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a novel method, real-time fMRI-triggered experience-sampling (rt-fMRI-ES), for improved temporal precision in studying spontaneous thoughts.
  • To investigate the neural correlates of spontaneous thoughts by linking brain activity in specific regions to subjective experiences.
  • To test hypotheses regarding the relationship between activity in the dorsal anterior insular cortex (daIC) and arousal, and between posteromedial cortex (PMC) activity and external attention.
Keywords:
Default mode networkExperience samplingMental healthReal-time fMRISalience networkSpontaneous thought

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Last Updated: May 26, 2026

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Main Methods:

  • Developed and implemented the rt-fMRI-ES technique during wakeful resting state fMRI.
  • Analyzed blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signals in real time to trigger thought probes based on spontaneous activations in the daIC and PMC.
  • Collected subjective ratings of arousal and external attention time-locked to these neural activation events.

Main Results:

  • The rt-fMRI-ES method was successfully developed and validated.
  • No significant difference in arousal ratings was found for daIC-activation trials compared to non-daIC-activation trials (H1).
  • External-attention ratings were significantly lower for PMC-activation trials compared to other trial types, supporting H2.

Conclusions:

  • The rt-fMRI-ES method provides a novel and efficient technique for capturing spontaneous thoughts.
  • This method allows for more precise temporal linking of ongoing neural activity with subjective mental experiences.
  • Findings suggest a role for the PMC in modulating external attention during spontaneous thought processes.