Neural dynamics of spontaneous memory recall and future thinking in the continuous flow of thoughts

Humans constantly recall past experiences and anticipate future events, generating a continuous flow of thoughts. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the natural transitions and trajectories of thoughts during spontaneous memory recall and future thinking remain underexplored. To address this gap, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study using a think-aloud paradigm, where participants verbalize their uninterrupted stream of thoughts during rest. We found that transitions between thoughts, particularly those involving significant shifts in semantic content, activate the brain’s default and control networks. These neural responses to internally generated thought boundaries produce activation patterns resembling those triggered by external event boundaries. Moreover, interactions within and between these networks shape the overall semantic structure of thought trajectories. Specifically, stronger functional connectivity within the medial temporal subsystem of the default network predicts greater variability in thoughts, while stronger connectivity between the control and core default networks is associated with reduced variability. Together, our findings highlight how the default and control networks guide the dynamic transitions and structure of naturally arising memory and future thinking.

Haowen Su, Xian Li, Savannah Born, Christopher J. Honey, Janice Chen, Hongmi Lee