A New Role of Default Mode Network Revealed by Eyeblink

Abstract

Default mode network is a network of brain regions that are active during internal processing but deactive during goal-oriented task. We previously found that while viewing videos, cortical activity momentarily decreases in the dorsal attention network after blink onset but increases in the default-mode network. Because eyeblinks tend to occur at implicit breakpoints while viewing videos, eyeblinks are involved in the release of attention by momentarily activating the default-mode network while deactivating the dorsal attention network. These results suggest that the default mode network plays an important role for neural information processing through dynamical interaction with other brain networks even during the goal-oriented task.View full abstract