ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI).
Department of Experimental Psychology.
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2021 Dec;47(12):1575-1582. doi: 10.1037/xhp0000959. Epub 2021 Nov 4.
Mind wandering (MW) is a highly prevalent phenomenon despite its negative consequences on behavior. Current views about its origin share the idea that MW occurs due to changes in the executive functions system. Here, we argue that not all instances of MW are necessarily related to changes in that system. Combining results from MW and sleep research, we propose that MW could also be related to the depletion of resources in primary task-related networks. To test this hypothesis, participants performed four sessions of the texture discrimination task (TDT) on a day. The TDT is a perceptual learning task in which performance is negatively related to the local build-up of sleep pressure. During the TDT, MW was recorded in both a subjective (i.e., with thought probes) and an objective (i.e., phasic pupillary response) manner. Results showed that accuracy on the TDT was mirrored in the objective measure of MW. For the subjective measure, the pattern was similar to that of task performance but could not be interpreted as reliable. These results demonstrate that not all MW is necessarily related to changes in the executive system and support the hypothesis that MW could be related to the depletion of local, task-related resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
尽管心流（MW）会对行为产生负面影响，但它是一种普遍存在的现象。目前关于其起源的观点都认为，MW 的产生是由于执行功能系统的变化。在这里，我们认为并非所有的 MW 实例都一定与该系统的变化有关。结合 MW 和睡眠研究的结果，我们提出 MW 也可能与主要任务相关网络中资源的消耗有关。为了验证这一假设，参与者在一天内进行了四次纹理辨别任务（TDT）。TDT 是一种感知学习任务，其表现与睡眠压力的局部积累呈负相关。在 TDT 期间，以主观（即通过思维探针）和客观（即相位瞳孔反应）的方式记录了 MW。结果表明，TDT 的准确性在 MW 的客观测量中得到了反映。对于主观测量，其模式与任务表现相似，但不能被解释为可靠。这些结果表明，并非所有的 MW 都一定与执行系统的变化有关，并支持 MW 可能与局部、任务相关资源的消耗有关的假设。
