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Offline Memory Reprocessing: Involvement of the Brain's Default Network in Spontaneous Thought Processes

Kun Wang,Chunshui Yu,Lijuan Xu,W. Qin,Kuncheng Li,Lin Xu,T. Jiang

Published 2009 in PLoS ONE

ABSTRACT

Background Spontaneous thought processes (STPs), also called daydreaming or mind-wandering, occur ubiquitously in daily life. However, the functional significance of STPs remains largely unknown. Methodology/Principal Finding Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we first identified an STPs-network whose activity was positively correlated with the subjects' tendency of having STPs during a task-free state. The STPs-network was then found to be strongly associated with the default network, which has previously been established as being active during the task-free state. Interestingly, we found that offline reprocessing of previously memorized information further increased the activity of the STPs-network regions, although during a state with less STPs. In addition, we found that the STPs-network kept a dynamic balance between functional integration and functional separation among its component regions to execute offline memory reprocessing in STPs. Conclusion/Significance These findings strengthen a view that offline memory reprocessing and STPs share the brain's default network, and thus implicate that offline memory reprocessing may be a predetermined function of STPs. This supports the perspective that memory can be consolidated and modified during STPs, and thus gives rise to a dynamic behavior dependent on both previous external and internal experiences.

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