Catching wandering minds with tapping fingers: neural and behavioral insights into task-unrelated cognition.

ABSTRACT: When the human mind wanders, it engages in episodes during which attention is focused on self-generated thoughts rather than on external task demands. Although the sustained attention to response task is commonly used to examine relationships between mind wandering and executive functions, limited executive resources are required for optimal task performance. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between mind wandering and executive functions more closely by employing a recently developed finger-tapping task to monitor fluctuations in attention and executive control through task performance and periodical experience sampling during concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and pupillometry. Our results show that mind wandering was preceded by increase

SUBMITTER: Groot JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9574234 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature