Golchert Johannes, Smallwood Jonathan, Jefferies Elizabeth, Seli Paul, Huntenburg Julia M, Liem Franziskus, Lauckner Mark E, Oligschläger Sabine, Bernhardt Boris C, Villringer Arno, Margulies Daniel S
Max Planck Research Group for Neuroanatomy & Connectivity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom.
Neuroimage. 2017 Feb 1;146:226-235. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.11.025. Epub 2016 Nov 15.
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.
思维游移与认知控制之间的关系存在争议。现有的心理学证据支持这样一种假设，即思维游移的发作反映了未能将思维限制在与任务相关的内容上，同时也支持另一种明显不同的观点，即控制可以促进自我产生的心理内容的表达。我们评估了这种明显的矛盾是否是由于未能考虑思维游移过程中出现的思维类型差异，特别是相关的意向水平差异而产生的。通过多模态磁共振成像（MRI）分析，我们研究了个体在描述思维游移的自发或刻意性质时存在个体差异的皮层组织基础。对于那些报告刻意思维游移发生率较高的个体，皮层厚度以及功能连接分析表明了与认知控制相关的区域和默认模式网络的区域。相比之下，较高的自发思维游移报告与左半球顶叶和颞叶后部区域的皮层变薄有关（这些区域在认知和注意力控制中很重要），以及顶内沟与腹侧额下回中跨越边缘和默认模式区域的一个区域之间的连接增强。最后，我们观察到扣带回后皮质/舌回厚度的分离，较高的自发思维游移报告与左半球增厚有关，而较高的刻意思维游移报告与右半球变薄有关。这些结果表明，思维游移状态的意向性取决于控制网络和默认模式网络之间的整合，更多的深思熟虑与这些系统之间更大的整合相关。我们得出结论，思维游移与控制之间关系存在争议的一个原因是，它取决于思维是以刻意还是自发的方式出现。
