The brain's default network: anatomy, function, and relevance to disease

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Thirty years of brain imaging research has converged to define the brain's default network-a novel and only recently appreciated brain system that participates in internal modes of cognition. Here we synthesize past observations to provide strong evidence that the default network is a specific, anatomically defined brain system preferentially active when individuals are not focused on the external environment. Analysis of connectional anatomy in the monkey supports the presence of an interconnected brain system. Providing insight into function, the default network is active when individuals are engaged in internally focused tasks including autobiographical memory retrieval, envisioning the future, and conceiving the perspectives of others. Probing the functional anatomy of the network in detail reveals that it is best understood as multiple interacting subsystems. The medial temporal lobe subsystem provides information from prior experiences in the form of memories and associations that are the building blocks of mental simulation. The medial prefrontal subsystem facilitates the flexible use of this information during the construction of self-relevant mental simulations. These two subsystems converge on important nodes of integration including the posterior cingulate cortex. The implications of these functional and anatomical observations are discussed in relation to possible adaptive roles of the default network for using past experiences to plan for the future, navigate social interactions, and maximize the utility of moments when we are not otherwise engaged by the external world. We conclude by discussing the relevance of the default network for understanding mental disorders including autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease.

Why it matters

Reviews brain imaging research on the default network, a brain system most active when people are not focused on the outside world, such as when recalling memories or envisioning the future. The authors close by discussing its relevance to mental disorders including autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Brain scans & tests →

Read the original

• DOI: 10.1196/annals.1440.011
• PubMed: 18400922
• Original source →

May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.

@article{buckner2008-18400922,
  author  = {Buckner, Randy Lee and Andrews‐Hanna, Jessica R. and Schacter, Daniel L.},
  title   = {{The brain's default network: anatomy, function, and relevance to disease}},
  journal = {Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences},
  year    = {2008},
  doi     = {10.1196/annals.1440.011},
  pmid    = {18400922},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1440.011}
}

Related studies in Brain scans and imaging

• Amyloid Deposition Is Associated with Impaired Default Network Function in Older Persons without Dementia Neuron · 2009-07-01 · usefulness score 59/100
• Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity As a Transdiagnostic Biomarker of Cognitive Function Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2025-01-09 · usefulness score 43/100
• Earliest accumulation of β-amyloid occurs within the default-mode network and concurrently affects brain connectivity Nature Communications · 2017-10-25 · usefulness score 61/100
• Resting-state global brain activity affects early β-amyloid accumulation in default mode network Nature communications · 2023-11-27 · usefulness score 45/100
• The hubs of the human connectome are generally implicated in the anatomy of brain disorders Brain : a journal of neurology · 2014-06-19 · usefulness score 78/100
• Perivascular spaces in the brain: anatomy, physiology and pathology Nature reviews. Neurology · 2020-02-24 · usefulness score 54/100

Also in Brain scans and imaging

114 studies in the library are filed under Brain scans and imaging with no topic tag they share with another; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed tour of them. The Brain scans and imaging hub.

• Prodromal autonomic symptoms and signs in Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society · 2013-03-28 · usefulness score 59/100 · Brain scans and imaging
• The impact of long-chainn-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on human health Nutrition Research Reviews · 2005-06-01 · usefulness score 40/100 · Brain scans and imaging
• The logopenic/phonological variant of primary progressive aphasia Neurology · 2008-07-16 · usefulness score 56/100 · Brain scans and imaging

Similar studies

• Neurodegenerative Diseases Target Large-Scale Human Brain Networks 2009 · Brain scans and imaging
• Human brain connectivity: Clinical applications for clinical neurophysiology 2020 · Brain scans and imaging
• Network dysfunction after traumatic brain injury 2014 · Brain scans and imaging
• Brain connectivity in neurodegenerative diseases--from phenotype to proteinopathy 2014 · Brain scans and imaging
• The neuropathology of traumatic brain injury 2015 · Lewy body dementia
• Impaired default network functional connectivity in autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease 2013 · Brain scans and imaging

More on Brain scans and imaging

• A review that covers this ground Default Mode Network Connectivity in Alzheimers Disease Turk psikiyatri dergisi = Turkish journal of psychiatry · 2019 · usefulness score 39/100
• Newest in this subject Large-scale head-to-head comparison of on- and off-target profiles of [18F]Tauvid and [18F]MK6240 tau-PET in aging and Alzheimer’s disease Research Square · 2026-11-01 · Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed · usefulness score 16/100
• Newest in this subject Repetitive negative thinking is associated with amyloid accumulation over 3 years in cognitively healthy adults medRxiv · 2026-10-31 · Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed · usefulness score 16/100

See all studies in Brain scans and imaging →