====== Default Mode Network (brain area) ======

The //Default Mode Network// (DMN) is a large-scale* brain area which was discovered during 'real-time' brain-scan experiments in the late 1990s.

The DMN was seen to //decrease// its activity during attention-demanding tasks, and then resume activity once the task was over.

Experiments in the early 2000s showed that the brain's energy consumption is increased by less than 5% while performing such attention-demanding tasks. - suggesting that the DMN is probably //also// performing highly complex operations. But a full description of those functions is currently lacking.

It's speculated that it may be involved in a large variety of different tasks - including 'mind wandering' and 'daydreaming' - and has even been called// "the neurological basis for the self"// (see [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network#Function|Wikipedia]]).

For extensive details of the discovery of the DMN, and current views on its possible functions, see :

[[https://www.neuropsy29.fr/phocadownloadpap/DMN/Neuroanatomie/annurev-neuro-071013-014030.pdf|Annual Review of Neuroscience]] {{:oa_padlock_grn.png?16}}38:433–47

>A frequently asked question, which has an incomplete answer at this time, is, “What is the function of the default mode network?”

//* Note:// The DMN is not a single isolated brain area, but is a distributed network across the brain, linking the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus and the angular gyrus, amongst others (see [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network|Wikipedia]] for details).