A Suggestion for a New Interpretation of Dreams: Dreaming Is the Inverse of Anxious Mind-Wandering.

A Suggestion for a New Interpretation of Dreams: Dreaming Is the Inverse of Anxious Mind-Wandering

10.31234/osf.io/9myfr ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua Eichler-Summers

Keyword(s):

Rem Sleep ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Mind Wandering ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Fear Response ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Default Mode ◽

New Interpretation ◽

Behaviour Changes ◽

The Brain

Mind-wandering is associated with the simultaneous activation of a network of different brain regions known formally as the default mode network. Forward looking anxious mind-wandering (or worry) occurs when activity in this network is coupled with a biological fear response in the brain. The fear response constrains the con-tent of anxious mind-wandering, with imagined catastrophised scenarios pushing the mind-wanderer towards avoidant behaviours. There is an established relationship between dreaming and mind-wandering. During rapid eye moment (REM) sleep, where dreams most commonly occur, many of the brain regions within the default mode network are activated. This paper presents a novel argument that during REM sleep the brain is in a bio-logically relaxed state, and that this state acts as a constraint to the content of dreams, which in turn presents a possible function of dreaming. In direct contrast to anxious mind-wandering, dreams present imagined situations which demand confrontational, or un-avoidant, behaviours. Though the situations in dreams call for un-avoidant behaviour, dreamers act with avoidance. This difference between the in-dream behaviour (avoidant) and the behaviour the in-dream situation demands (un-avoidant) highlights an anxiety present in the dreamer which can then be used to direct the focus of therapeutic treatment. Fourteen examples of dreams are presented, including seven examples of interpretation, three examples of successful dream content prediction (a first for an interpretive theory of dreams), and four examples of dreams which demonstrate how in-dream behaviour changes during successful therapy, three of which are my own. Dreams focusing on anxieties developed during infancy as well as in adult moments of trauma (such as post-traumatic stress disorder) are discussed, with a focus on the former.

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Multimodal Imaging of Alzheimer Pathophysiology in the Brain's Default Mode Network

International Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.4061/2011/687945 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jonghan Shin ◽

Vladimir Kepe ◽

Gary W. Small ◽

Michael E. Phelps ◽

Jorge R. Barrio

Keyword(s):

Default Mode Network ◽

Multimodal Imaging ◽

Temporal Cortex ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Default Network ◽

Spatial Correlations ◽

Tau Pathology ◽

Significant Discrepancy ◽

Default Mode ◽

The Brain

The spatial correlations between the brain's default mode network (DMN) and the brain regions known to develop pathophysiology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have recently attracted much attention. In this paper, we compare results of different functional and structural imaging modalities, including MRI and PET, and highlight different patterns of anomalies observed within the DMN. Multitracer PET imaging in subjects with and without dementia has demonstrated that [C-11]PIB- and [F-18]FDDNP-binding patterns in patients with AD overlap within nodes of the brain's default network including the prefrontal, lateral parietal, lateral temporal, and posterior cingulate cortices, with the exception of the medial temporal cortex (especially, the hippocampus) where significant discrepancy between increased [F-18]FDDNP binding and negligible [C-11]PIB-binding was observed. [F-18]FDDNP binding in the medial temporal cortex—a key constituent of the DMN—coincides with both the presence of amyloid and tau pathology, and also with cortical areas with maximal atrophy as demonstrated by T1-weighted MR imaging of AD patients.

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Topographic connectivity reveals task-dependent retinotopic processing throughout the human brain

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2017032118 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 118 (2) ◽

pp. e2017032118

Author(s):

Tomas Knapen

Keyword(s):

Visual System ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Spatial Organization ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Cognitive State ◽

Default Mode ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Retinotopic Maps ◽

Visual Organization ◽

The Brain

The human visual system is organized as a hierarchy of maps that share the topography of the retina. Known retinotopic maps have been identified using simple visual stimuli under strict fixation, conditions different from everyday vision which is active, dynamic, and complex. This means that it remains unknown how much of the brain is truly visually organized. Here I demonstrate widespread stable visual organization beyond the traditional visual system, in default-mode network and hippocampus. Detailed topographic connectivity with primary visual cortex during movie-watching, resting-state, and retinotopic-mapping experiments revealed that visual–spatial representations throughout the brain are warped by cognitive state. Specifically, traditionally visual regions alternate with default-mode network and hippocampus in preferentially representing the center of the visual field. This visual role of default-mode network and hippocampus would allow these regions to interface between abstract memories and concrete sensory impressions. Together, these results indicate that visual–spatial organization is a fundamental coding principle that structures the communication between distant brain regions.

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A Classification Mechanism of Brain Functional fMRI in Resting State

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.687-691.1087 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 687-691 ◽

pp. 1087-1090

Author(s):

Hui Zhou ◽

Zhen Cheng Chen ◽

Jian Ming Zhu ◽

Dong Cui Wang ◽

Biao Xu

Keyword(s):

Hierarchical Clustering ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Resting State ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Default Mode ◽

Complex Network Theory ◽

Healthy Young People ◽

Comparative Results ◽

The Brain

To investigate the brain default mode network (DMN) of healthy young people, a novel hierarchical clustering method was proposed to detect similarities of low-frequency fluctuations between any two out of 160 regions of interest (ROI) all over the brain. Feature of these ROIs were firstextractedand analyzed the feature using hierarchical clustering approach.Combining with the strongest connected network node identified by network centric criterion, the default mode network which presented the strongest connectivity in resting state was then determined. The results demonstrated that cingulate had the highest value of average degree, making it the most suspectof where the centrality indices of DMN lay.The comparative results between nodes included by DMN returned by our method and these given by Dosenbach’s research showed quite high coincidence rates,indicating the proposed method of combining complex network theory and hierarchical clustering analysis feasible method to parse brain regions.

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The Brain Mechanisms and Functional Hypothesis of Default Mode Network and Its Clinical Application

Advances in Psychological Science ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1042.2014.00234 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 234

Author(s):

Yu LI ◽

Hua SHU

Keyword(s):

Clinical Application ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Default Mode ◽

The Brain ◽

Functional Hypothesis

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Cerebral Blood Flow in Posterior Cortical Nodes of the Default Mode Network Decreases with Task Engagement but Remains Higher than in Most Brain Regions

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhq090 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 233-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 62

Author(s):

A. Pfefferbaum ◽

S. Chanraud ◽

A.-L. Pitel ◽

E. Muller-Oehring ◽

A. Shankaranarayanan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Flow ◽

Cerebral Blood Flow ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Task Engagement ◽

Default Mode

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Maturation of Brain Regions Related to the Default Mode Network during Adolescence Facilitates Narrative Comprehension

Journal of Child and Adolescent Behaviour ◽

10.4172/2375-4494.1000328 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 05 (01) ◽

Author(s):

Tzipi Horowitz Kraus ◽

Rola Farah ◽

Ardag Hajinazarian ◽

Kenneth Eaton ◽

Akila Rajagopal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Default Mode Network ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Narrative Comprehension ◽

Default Mode

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Mind wandering and attention during focused meditation: A fine-grained temporal analysis of fluctuating cognitive states

10.31231/osf.io/4fnt6 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Wendy Hasenkamp ◽

Christine Wilson-Mendenhall ◽

Erica Duncan ◽

Lawrence Barsalou

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Processes ◽

Sustained Attention ◽

Temporal Analysis ◽

Mind Wandering ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Attentional Processing ◽

Default Mode ◽

Cognitive Correlates ◽

Cognitive States ◽

Task Positive Network

Studies have suggested that the default mode network is active during mind wandering, which is often experienced intermittently during sustained attention tasks. Conversely, an anticorrelated task-positive network is thought to subserve various forms of attentional processing. Understanding how these two systems work together is central for understanding many forms of optimal and sub-optimal task performance. Here we present a basic model of naturalistic cognitive fluctuations between mind wandering and attentional states derived from the practice of focused attention meditation. This model proposes four intervals in a cognitive cycle: mind wandering, awareness of mind wandering, shifting of attention, and sustained attention. People who train in this style of meditation cultivate their abilities to monitor cognitive processes related to attention and distraction, making them well suited to report on these mental events. Fourteen meditation practitioners performed breath-focused meditation while undergoing fMRI scanning. When participants realized their mind had wandered, they pressed a button and returned their focus to the breath. The four intervals above were then constructed around these button presses. We hypothesized that periods of mind wandering would be associated with default mode activity, whereas cognitive processes engaged during awareness of mind wandering, shifting of attention and sustained attention would engage attentional subnetworks. Analyses revealed activity in brain regions associated with the default mode during mind wandering, and in salience network regions during awareness of mind wandering. Elements of the executive network were active during shifting and sustained attention. Furthermore, activations during these cognitive phases were modulated by lifetime meditation experience. These findings support and extend theories about cognitive correlates of distributed brain networks.

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I know that I don’t know: Structural and functional connectivity underlying meta-ignorance in pre-schoolers

10.1101/450346 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elisa Filevich ◽

Caroline Garcia Forlim ◽

Carmen Fehrman ◽

Carina Forster ◽

Markus Paulus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Cingulate Gyrus ◽

Partial Knowledge ◽

Metacognitive Monitoring ◽

Default Mode ◽

Posterior Cingulate Gyrus ◽

Knowledge Condition ◽

The Brain

Research Highlights[1] Children develop the ability to report that they do not know something at around five years of age.[2] Children who could correctly report their own ignorance in a partial-knowledge task showed thicker cortices within medial orbitofrontal cortex.[3] This region was functionally connected to parts of the default-mode network.[4] The default-mode network might support the development of correct metacognitive monitoring.AbstractMetacognition plays a pivotal role in human development. The ability to realize that we do not know something, or meta-ignorance, emerges after approximately five years of age. We aimed at identifying the brain systems that underlie the developmental emergence of this ability in a preschool sample.Twenty-four children aged between five and six years answered questions under three conditions of a meta-ignorance task twice. In the critical partial knowledge condition, an experimenter first showed two toys to a child, then announced that she would place one of them in a box behind a screen, out of sight from the child. The experimenter then asked the child whether or not she knew which toy was in the box.Children who answered correctly both times to the metacognitive question in the partial knowledge condition (n=9) showed greater cortical thickness in a cluster within left medial orbitofrontal cortex than children who did not (n=15). Further, seed-based functional connectivity analyses of the brain during resting state revealed that this region is functionally connected to the medial orbitofrontal gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus, and mid- and inferior temporal gyri.This finding suggests that the default mode network, critically through its prefrontal regions, supports introspective processing. It leads to the emergence of metacognitive monitoring allowing children to explicitly report their own ignorance.

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