Rest Is Not Idleness

Abstract

When people wakefully rest in the functional MRI scanner, their minds wander, and they engage a so-called default mode (DM) of neural processing that is relatively suppressed when attention is focused on the outside world. Accruing evidence suggests that DM brain systems activated during rest are also important for active, internally focused psychosocial mental processing, for example, when recalling personal memories, imagining the future, and feeling social emotions with moral connotations. Here the authors review evidence for the DM and relations to psychological functioning, including associations with mental health and cognitive abilities like reading comprehension and divergent thinking. This article calls for research into the dimensions of internally focused thought, ranging from free-form daydreaming and off-line consolidation to intensive, effortful abstract thinking, especially with socioemotional relevance. It is argued that the development of some socioemotional skills may be vulnerable to disruption by environmental distraction, for example, from certain educational practices or overuse of social media. The authors hypothesize that high environmental attention demands may bias youngsters to focus on the concrete, physical, and immediate aspects of social situations and self, which may be more compatible with external attention. They coin the term constructive internal reflection and advocate educational practices that promote effective balance between external attention and internal reflection.

Network Science and the Effects of Music Preference on Functional Brain Connectivity: From Beethoven to Eminem

“…Described as functioning somewhat like a toggle switch between outwardly focused mind states and the internal or subjective sense of self, this network appears to include mind-wandering experiences such as imagining the future, the discovering of new possibilities (hopes), and the affective significance of aspirations or dreams313336. The demonstrated high degree within the precuneus concurrent with high global efficiency provides preliminary support for the recruitment of other cognitive processing states when listening to music that is liked3738.…”

“…This network has also been more recently implicated in the development of cognitive abilities such as divergent thinking and creativity3344. Based on these findings, it might be possible that listening to preferred music has the potential to engage such brain functions33. This has specific implications for neurologic remediation (therapy), where music has been shown to have neurorehabilitation effects, such as improvements in executive function and emotional adjustments, as well as lessening of anxiety and depression4546.…”

“…Here we wanted to determine whether the application of network science techniques might reveal patterns of functional connectivity based on individual music listening preferences, including a pre-reported personal favorite song, regardless of the type of music19. Of particular interest to us were brain mechanisms responsible for self-reflective thought and socio-emotional memory3334. Previous analyses with fMRI and naturalistic listening have focused on brain network responses to specific components, such as timbral musical features and motifs, within a continuous musical excerpt2729.…”

“…Research is now showing that disruptions and abnormal connectivity within the default mode network may be related to a set of neurological challenges, such as autism, mild cognitive impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and depression354243. This network has also been more recently implicated in the development of cognitive abilities such as divergent thinking and creativity3344. Based on these findings, it might be possible that listening to preferred music has the potential to engage such brain functions33.…”

How can neuroscience contribute to moral philosophy, psychology and education based on Aristotelian virtue ethics?

“…This aspect would also be supported by neuroimaging studies demonstrating that habituation actually influences the neural mechanism of affection and motivation (Tricomi et al 2009;Lingawi and Balleine 2012;de Wit et al 2012). Then, in regions correlated with reasoning based on prudence, self-control, and sophisticated self-reflective processes (e.g., lateral prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex) Buckner et al 2008;Immordino-Yang et al 2012), that correspond to the concept of phronesis in Aristotelian philosophy, the activity becomes salient beyond adolescence Wright et al 2008;Harenski et al 2012). This neural-level developmental trend suggests that the moral developmental course proposed by Aristotelian ethics may actually occur in the human brain.…”