Default mode network - definition

the default mode network (sometimes called the default network) refers to a group of interconnected brain structures that are hypothesized to be part of a functional system activated when one is awake but not involved in any specific mental exercise. Thus, the default mode network is thought to be most active during things like daydreaming, recalling memories, envisioning the future, etc. and least active during particular tasks like paying attention. Some structures that are often included in the network are the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and the inferior parietal lobule.

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Know your brain: Default mode network

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YOUR BRAIN, EXPLAINED

Sleep. Memory. Pleasure. Fear. Language. We experience these things every day, but how do our brains create them? Your Brain, Explained is a personal tour around your gray matter. Building on neuroscientist Marc Dingman’s popular YouTube series, 2-Minute Neuroscience, this is a friendly, engaging introduction to the human brain and its quirks using real-life examples and Dingman’s own, hand-drawn illustrations.

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This book shows a whole other side of how brains work by examining the most unusual behavior to emerge from the human brain. In it, you'll meet a woman who is afraid to take a shower because she fears her body will slip down the drain, a man who is convinced he is a cat, a woman who compulsively snacks on cigarette ashes, and many other unusual cases. As uncommon as they are, each of these cases has something important to teach us about everyday brain function.

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