title: Individual variation in intentionality in the mind-wandering state is reflected in the integration of the default-mode, fronto-parietal, and limbic networks.
abstract: Mind-wandering has a controversial relationship with cognitive control. Existing psychological evidence supports the hypothesis that episodes of mind-wandering reflect a failure to constrain thinking to task-relevant material, as well the apparently alternative view that control can facilitate the expression of self-generated mental content. We assessed whether this apparent contradiction arises because of a failure to consider differences in the types of thoughts that occur during mind-wandering, and in particular, the associated level of intentionality. Using multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis, we examined the cortical organisation that underlies inter-individual differences in descriptions of the spontaneous or deliberate nature of mind-wandering. Cortical thickness, as well as functional connectivity analyses, implicated regions relevant to cognitive control and regions of the default-mode network for individuals who reported high rates of deliberate mind-wandering. In contrast, higher reports of spontaneous mind-wandering were associated with cortical thinning in parietal and posterior temporal regions in the left hemisphere (which are important in the control of cognition and attention) as well as heightened connectivity between the intraparietal sulcus and a region that spanned limbic and default-mode regions in the ventral inferior frontal gyrus. Finally, we observed a dissociation in the thickness of the retrosplenial cortex/lingual gyrus, with higher reports of spontaneous mind-wandering being associated with thickening in the left hemisphere, and higher repots of deliberate mind-wandering with thinning in the right hemisphere. These results suggest that the intentionality of the mind-wandering state depends on integration between the control and default-mode networks, with more deliberation being associated with greater integration between these systems. We conclude that one reason why mind-wandering has a controversial relationship with control is because it depends on whether the thoughts emerge in a deliberate or spontaneous fashion.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Research Group for Neuroanatomy & Connectivity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Golchert
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom. Electronic address: jonny.smallwood@york.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smallwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jefferies
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Seli
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Research Group for Neuroanatomy & Connectivity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Huntenburg
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Research Group for Neuroanatomy & Connectivity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Franziskus
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liem
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Research Group for Neuroanatomy & Connectivity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Lauckner
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Research Group for Neuroanatomy & Connectivity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oligschläger
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Boris C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Bernhardt
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Center for Stroke Research Berlin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villringer
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Research Group for Neuroanatomy & Connectivity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany. Electronic address: margulies@cbs.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Margulies
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D033182:Intention; D065726:Limbic Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive control; Cortical thickness; Intentionality; Mind-wandering; functional connectivity