PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Matthias Mittner
AU  - Wouter Boekel
AU  - Adrienne M. Tucker
AU  - Brandon M. Turner
AU  - Andrew Heathcote
AU  - Birte U. Forstmann
TI  - When the Brain Takes a Break: A Model-Based Analysis of Mind Wandering
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2062-14.2014
DP  - 2014 Dec 03
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 16286--16295
VI  - 34
IP  - 49
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/49/16286.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/49/16286.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2014 Dec 03; 34
AB  - Mind wandering is an ubiquitous phenomenon in everyday life. In the cognitive neurosciences, mind wandering has been associated with several distinct neural processes, most notably increased activity in the default mode network (DMN), suppressed activity within the anti-correlated (task-positive) network (ACN), and changes in neuromodulation. By using an integrative multimodal approach combining machine-learning techniques with modeling of latent cognitive processes, we show that mind wandering in humans is characterized by inefficiencies in executive control (task-monitoring) processes. This failure is predicted by a single-trial signature of (co)activations in the DMN, ACN, and neuromodulation, and accompanied by a decreased rate of evidence accumulation and response thresholds in the cognitive model.