title: Increasing propensity to mind-wander with transcranial direct current stimulation.
abstract: Humans mind-wander quite intensely. Mind wandering is markedly different from other cognitive behaviors because it is spontaneous, self-generated, and inwardly directed (inner thoughts). However, can such an internal and intimate mental function also be modulated externally by means of brain stimulation? Addressing this question could also help identify the neural correlates of mind wandering in a causal manner, in contrast to the correlational methods used previously (primarily functional MRI). In our study, participants performed a monotonous task while we periodically sampled their thoughts to assess mind wandering. Concurrently, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We found that stimulation of the frontal lobes [anode electrode at the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), cathode electrode at the right supraorbital area], but not of the occipital cortex or sham stimulation, increased the propensity to mind-wander. These results demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, that mind wandering can be enhanced externally using brain stimulation, and that the frontal lobes play a causal role in mind-wandering behavior. These results also suggest that the executive control network associated with the DLPFC might be an integral part of mind-wandering neural machinery.
authors.affiliation: The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and vadim.axelrod@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vadim
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Axelrod
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Geraint
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.affiliation: The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel; and.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavidor
authors.affiliation: The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and.
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bar
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: brain stimulation; frontal lobes; mind wandering; spontaneous activity; tDCS