Distinct electrophysiological signatures of task-unrelated and dynamic thoughts.

ABSTRACT: Humans spend much of their lives engaging with their internal train of thoughts. Traditionally, research focused on whether or not these thoughts are related to ongoing tasks, and has identified reliable and distinct behavioral and neural correlates of task-unrelated and task-related thought. A recent theoretical framework highlighted a different aspect of thinking-how it dynamically moves between topics. However, the neural correlates of such thought dynamics are unknown. The current study aimed to determine the electrophysiological signatures of these dynamics by recording electroencephalogram (EEG) while participants performed an attention task and periodically answered thought-sampling questions about whether their thoughts were 1) task-unrelated, 2) freely moving, 3) deliberately cons

SUBMITTER: Kam JWY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7848609 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature