Distinct patterns of thought mediate the link between brain functional connectomes and well-being

Deniz Vatansever; Theodoros Karapanagiotidis; Daniel S Margulies; Beth Jefferies; Jonathan Smallwood

doi:https://doi.org/10.1162/netn_a_00137

Distinct patterns of thought mediate the link between brain functional connectomes and well-being

Deniz Vatansever, Theodoros Karapanagiotidis, Daniel S Margulies, Beth Jefferies, Jonathan Smallwood

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Ongoing thought patterns constitute important aspects of both healthy and abnormal human cognition. However, the neural mechanisms behind these daily experiences and their contribution to well-being remain a matter of debate. Here, using resting-state fMRI and retrospective thought sampling in a large neurotypical cohort (n = 211), we identified two distinct patterns of thought, broadly describing the participants’ current concerns and future plans, that significantly explained variability in the individual functional connectomes. Consistent with the view that ongoing thoughts are an emergent property of multiple neural systems, network-based analysis highlighted the central importance of both unimodal and transmodal cortices in the generation of these experiences. Importantly, while state-dependent current concerns predicted better psychological health, mediating the effect of functional connectomes, trait-level future plans were related to better social health, yet with no mediatory influence. Collectively, we show that ongoing thoughts can influence the link between brain physiology and well-being.

Original language	English
Number of pages	21
Journal	Network Neuroscience
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1162/netn_a_00137
Publication status	Published - 10 Mar 2020

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Functional connectivity
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Graph theory
Mental health
Resting state
Patterns of thought

Access to Document

https://doi.org/10.1162/netn_a_00137

netn_a_00137
© 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Final published version, 3.07 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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AU - Smallwood, Jonathan

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