Meta-awareness, mind-wandering, and the control of ‘default’ external and internal orientations of attention

Christian, Isaac R.; Nastase, Samuel A.; Kim, Lauren K.; Graziano, Michael S. A. · 2024 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.13.612916

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Summary

This study investigates the dynamic nature of attentional "default modes," challenging the conventional view that internal thought is the sole default state of cognition. The authors propose that attentional defaults are context-dependent, shifting between internal and external orientations based on stimulus salience and task demands. Specifically, the research examines how meta-awareness—the explicit recognition of mind-wandering—facilitates the control of attention when the prepotent state is either external (attending to a video) or internal (focusing on breathing). The study aims to determine if neural mechanisms for controlling attention are similar regardless of whether the distraction is internal or external. The experimental design involved forty participants undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while viewing six movie clips categorized as high or low salience. Participants completed two conditions: an external attention task, where they focused on the video and reported mind-wandering via button presses, and an internal attention task, where they ignored the video to focus on their breathing, again reporting lapses. Each video was presented four times in sequence to manipulate engagement levels; high-salience videos were expected to become less engaging with repetition, while low-salience videos were expected to remain unengaging. The researchers analyzed behavioral data (button press frequency) and neural data using inter-subject correlation (ISC), within-subject functional connectivity, and general linear modeling (GLM) to identify networks involved in attentional control and meta-awareness. Behavioral results confirmed that attentional stability is context-dependent. In the external attention condition, mind-wandering events increased as videos were repeated and when low-salience videos were presented, indicating that external focus became harder to maintain as interest waned. Conversely, in the internal attention condition, mind-wandering events were more frequent during the first repetition of high-salience videos, suggesting that captivating external stimuli disrupted internal focus. Neural analyses revealed that fronto-parietal networks were engaged in transitions between default-controlled states regardless of whether the task required internal or external attention. ISC and connectivity analyses indicated significant overlap in the neural processing of internal and external attention, contradicting the assumption of strictly distinct neural substrates for these modes. The findings suggest that the distinction between internal and external attention is less rigid than previously assumed, with shared neural mechanisms governing the control of attention across both domains. The study demonstrates that the "default" mode of cognition is not fixed but shifts based on the relative salience of internal and external stimuli. This implies that meta-awareness and attentional control operate through common fronto-parietal networks, regardless of the direction of attentional drift. These results have implications for understanding attentional disorders and the impact of highly engaging external media, such as social media, which may hijack attentional defaults similarly to internal rumination.

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• mind wandering
• cognitive