Neural Correlates of Mind-wandering during Encoding Tasks: A Meta-analysis of 64 Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies

Our minds frequently drift from the task at hand to other mental content, a process commonly referred to as mind-wandering. Task focus typically leads to high-quality encoding of task events, whereas mind-wandering tends to result in low-quality encoding. This study conducted a meta-analysis of fMRI studies comparing high-quality and low-quality encoding to explore the neural correlates of mind-wandering. Key findings show that activation during mind-wandering is closely associated with four specific subnetworks: Default Mode Network-A, Frontoparietal Network-B and -C, and Ventral Attention Network-B. In contrast, deactivation primarily occurs within Dorsal Attention Network-A, Frontoparietal Network-A, and Default Mode Network-B and -C. These findings offer empirical support for several prominent theoretical accounts of mind-wandering, including those emphasizing internal cognition, perceptual decoupling, executive control (both failure and engagement), and reduced filtering. These results highlight the importance of a fine-grained, network-based approach to understanding the complex neural dynamics of mind-wandering.