Mind-wandering as a natural kind: A family-resemblances view

Seli, Paul; Kane, Michael J.; Smallwood, Jonny; Schacter, Daniel L.; Maillet, David; Schooler, Jonathan W.; Smilek, Daniel

doi:10.31234/osf.io/tgnzm

Cited by 59 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…These off-task experiences are common in the lab [5][6][7][8] and daily life [9][10][11][12] , and can vary in their content [13][14][15][16] and more abstract features such as metacognitive awareness [17][18][19] and their links with intention [20][21][22][23] . Recent views from both psychology 24 and neuroscience 25 have argued that off-task experiences can be understood as a family of states with overlapping experiential neural and cognitive features.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct neural markers for intentional and unintentional task unrelated thought

Martel

Arvaneh

Robertson

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Studies suggest that generating thought unrelated to the task in hand is accompanied by a reduction of attention to external task-relevant information. This observations led contemporary theory to suggest multiple component processes contribute to patterns of ongoing thought. The present study used EEG to seek support for these component-process accounts by examining the neural correlates of deliberate and spontaneous task unrelated thought. EEG activity was compared prior to reports of ongoing thought during a test of sustained attention. Event-related potentials, such as the P3, were attenuated during off-task states, regardless of whether they were intentional or not. In contrast, increased alpha power and cortical phase-locking were linked to deliberate off-task thoughts, while reductions of evoked sensory response were prevalent in spontaneous off-task episodes. These data suggest off-task thought shares common and distinct neural features that are differentiated through their relationship to intention, supporting component process accounts of ongoing thought.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct neural markers for intentional and unintentional task unrelated thought

Martel

Arvaneh

Robertson

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…However, they are also heterogeneous in content (Smallwood and Andrews-Hanna, 2013) and outcome (Mooneyham and Schooler, 2013), while their intrinsic nature constitutes a challenge to their measurement (Smallwood, 2013). Although there is a growing understanding that self-generated states constitute an important feature of human cognition, we lack an agreed upon classification on their defining features (Seli et al, 2018;Christoff et al, 2018), as well as the tools with which to study them (Kucyi, 2018). The current study examined whether it is possible to gain insight into the repertoire of self-generated states by applying advanced machine learning methods to recordings of neural data during periods of wakeful rest, and using these to predict measures of experience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The psychological correlates of distinct neural states occurring during wakeful rest

Karapanagiotidis

Vidaurre

Quinn

et al. 2019

Preprint

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When unoccupied by an explicit external task, humans engage in a wide range of different types of self-generated thinking. These are often unrelated to the immediate environment and have unique psychological features. Although contemporary perspectives on ongoing thought recognise the heterogeneity of these self-generated states, we lack both a clear understanding of how to classify the specific states, and how they can be mapped empirically. In the current study, we capitalise on advances in machine learning that allow continuous neural data to be divided into a set of distinct temporally re-occurring patterns, or states. We applied this technique to a large set of resting state data in which we also acquired retrospective descriptions of the participants' experiences during the scan. We found that two of the identified states were predictive of patterns of thinking at rest. One state highlighted a pattern of neural activity commonly seen during demanding tasks, and the time individuals spent in this state was associated with descriptions of experience focused on problem solving in the future. A second state was associated with patterns of activity that are commonly seen under less demanding conditions, and the time spent in it was linked to reports of negative rumination. Finally, we found that these two neural states tended to fall at either end of a neural hierarchy that is thought to reflect the brain's response to cognitive demands. Together, these results demonstrate that approaches which take advantage of time-varying changes in neural function can play an important role in understanding the repertoire of self-generated states. Moreover, they establish that important features of self-generated ongoing experience are related to variation along a similar vein to those seen when the brain responds to cognitive task demands.

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“…Mind wandering, that is the experience of one's attention drifting away from the external environment towards inner thoughts and feelings, is a frequent phenomenon. Mind wandering is as an umbrella term for divergent states of inattention (Seli et al, 2018a) but is often conceptualized in a more specific manner, namely as a redirection of attention away from a currently ongoing task (Mrazek et al, 2013). In this paper, we use the term mind wandering in this more specific sense, as a reference to task-unrelated thoughts that occur while one is engaged in some ongoing task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Electrophysiological Signature of Mind Wandering

Arnau

Loeffler

Rummel

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Mind wandering during ongoing tasks can impede task performance and increase the risk of failure in laboratory as well as in daily-life tasks and work environments. Neurocognitive measures like the electroencephalography (EEG) offer the opportunity to assess mind wandering non-invasively without interfering with the primary task. However, the literature on electrophysiological correlates of mind wandering is rather inconsistent. The present study aims towards clarifying this picture by breaking down the temporal dynamics of mind-wandering encounters using a cluster-based permutation approach. Participants performed a switching task during which mind wandering was occasionally assessed via thought probes applied after trial completion at random time points. In line with previous studies, response accuracy was reduced during mind wandering. Moreover, alpha power during the inter-trial interval was significantly increased on those trials on which participants reported that they had been mindwandering. This spatially widely distributed effect is theoretically well in line with recent findings linking an increased alpha power to an internally oriented state of attention.Measurements of alpha power may therefore be used to detect mind wandering online during critical tasks in traffic and industry in order to prevent failures.

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Mind-wandering as a natural kind: A family-resemblances view

Cited by 59 publications

References 40 publications

Distinct neural markers for intentional and unintentional task unrelated thought

Distinct neural markers for intentional and unintentional task unrelated thought

The psychological correlates of distinct neural states occurring during wakeful rest

The Electrophysiological Signature of Mind Wandering

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