The Restless Mind
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Restless Mind: Default Mode of Operation or Risk Factor for Health?
IRAS ID
124689
Contact name
Hugo Critchley
Contact email
Research summary
The ability of the mind to disengage from a primary activity to follow unrelated inner thoughts (mind wandering) has been defined the brain’s default mode of operation. It is a common experience, however, that this process can become maladaptive, and take the form of repetitive thoughts focused on the past (rumination) or the future (worry). A series of recent studies showed an association between episodes of mind wandering and negative mood, dysphoria, poor performance, and increased psychophysiological reactivity (reviewed in Mooneyham and Schooler, 2013). Given the pervasiveness of this cognitive process in our lives (almost 50% of our waking time) and the adaptive role conferred to it, it seems implausible that mind wandering has the effect to make people vulnerable in terms of physiological reactivity and mood worsening, both recognised risk factors for health. The question is: when (and why) does it become dysfunctional? In our previous laboratory study, we demonstrated that mind wandering is not in itself a maladaptive process, but it becomes maladaptive when the subject’s ability to inhibit it is compromised (Ottaviani et al., 2013). In the current study, the same hypothesis will be tested longitudinally (baseline and 1 year follow up) on anxious patients and healthy controls by the use of neuroimaging techniques (fMRI) and simultaneous psychophysiological recording.
Mooneyham BW, Schooler JW. (2013). The costs and benefits of mind-wandering: A review. Can J Exp Psychol, 67:11-8.
Ottaviani C, Shapiro D, Couyoumdjian A. (2013). Flexibility as the key for somatic health: From mind wandering to perseverative cognition. Biol Psychol, 94: 38-43.REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1587
Date of REC Opinion
7 Jan 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion