Default network and frontoparietal control network theta connectivity supports internal attention

• Published in: Nature human behaviour Vol. 3; no. 12; pp. 1263 - 1270
• Main Authors: Kam, Julia W. Y., Lin, Jack J., Solbakk, Anne-Kristin, Endestad, Tor, Larsson, Pål G., Knight, Robert T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-12-2019; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/378/2645; 631/378/2649/1310; 631/378/2649/2150; 631/443/376; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Attention; Attention - physiology; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiology; Electrodes; Electroencephalography; Epilepsy; Experimental Psychology; Female; Frontal Lobe - physiology; Humans; Letter; Life Sciences; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Microeconomics; Middle Aged; Nerve Net - physiology; Neuroimaging; Neurosciences; Neurosurgery; Parietal Lobe - physiology; Personality and Social Psychology; Power; Theta Rhythm - physiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2397-3374; 2397-3374
• DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0717-0

Attending to our inner world is a fundamental cognitive phenomenon
1
–
3
, yet its neural underpinnings remain largely unknown. Neuroimaging evidence implicates the default network (DN) and frontoparietal control network (FPCN)
4
; however, the electrophysiological basis for the interaction between these networks is unclear. Here we recorded intracranial electroencephalogram from DN and FPCN electrodes implanted in individuals undergoing presurgical monitoring for refractory epilepsy. Subjects performed an attention task during which they attended to tones (that is, externally directed attention) or ignored the tones and thought about whatever came to mind (that is, internally directed attention). Given the emerging role of theta band connectivity in attentional processes
5
,
6
, we examined the theta power correlation between DN and two subsystems of the FPCN as a function of attention states. We found increased connectivity between DN and FPCN
A
during internally directed attention compared to externally directed attention, which positively correlated with attention ratings. There was no statistically significant difference between attention states in the connectivity between DN and FPCN
B
. Our results indicate that enhanced theta band connectivity between the DN and FPCN
A
is a core electrophysiological mechanism that underlies internally directed attention.
Using intracranial recordings, Kam et al. find that connectivity between the default network and a recently identified subsystem of the frontoparietal control network plays a role in attending to our own thoughts rather than the outside world.