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The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 22, pages 181–192 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

The default mode network (DMN) is classically considered an ‘intrinsic’ system, specializing in internally oriented cognitive processes such as daydreaming, reminiscing and future planning. In this Perspective, we suggest that the DMN is an active and dynamic ‘sense-making’ network that integrates incoming extrinsic information with prior intrinsic information to form rich, context-dependent models of situations as they unfold over time. We review studies that relied on naturalistic stimuli, such as stories and movies, to demonstrate how an individual’s DMN neural responses are influenced both by external information accumulated as events unfold over time and by the individual’s idiosyncratic past memories and knowledge. The integration of extrinsic and intrinsic information over long timescales provides a space for negotiating a shared neural code, which is necessary for establishing shared meaning, shared communication tools, shared narratives and, above all, shared communities and social networks.

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Fig. 1: A new view of the default mode network.
Fig. 2: Using inter-subject correlation analysis to map shared responses across subjects.
Fig. 3: Isolating stimulus-locked brain connectivity using inter-subject functional correlation.
Fig. 4: Transmission of experience and the similarity of neural responses among friends.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank S. Nastase, R. Malach and E. Simony for helpful discussion and comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award numbers DP1HD091948 (U.H.) and R01MH112566-01 (M.N.).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Yaara Yeshurun, Mai Nguyen

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Yaara Yeshurun, Mai Nguyen & Uri Hasson

  2. Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Yaara Yeshurun, Mai Nguyen & Uri Hasson

  3. Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Mai Nguyen & Uri Hasson

  4. Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Mai Nguyen & Uri Hasson

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  1. Yaara Yeshurun
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Yeshurun, Y., Nguyen, M. & Hasson, U. The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world. Nat Rev Neurosci 22, 181–192 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-020-00420-w

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