Relating mind-blanking to the content and dynamics of spontaneous thinking

[en] During wakefulness, the stream of thought is occasionally interrupted by moments when we cannot report any content, termed “mind blanking” (MB). As MB is a relatively unexplored mental state, we here examine how it relates to spontaneous thinking, namely thought content and thought dynamics. By reviewing empirical studies on the neural correlates of MB, we first indicate that MB reports are mediated by variations in cortical and physiological arousal levels. In terms of thought content, we propose to view MB on a dimensional space representing content types, where MB is unrelated to any type of content. In terms of thought dynamics, we suggest conceptualizing MB as a moment during content transitioning, or as a failure to transition across contents. Taken together, we suggest that MB has a unique place in the study of spontaneous thinking, and its inclusion can facilitate the isolation of the neural correlates of ongoing cognition.

Precision for document type :

Review article

Disciplines :

Neurosciences & behavior

Author, co-author :

Boulakis, Paradeisios ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA CRC In vivo Imaging - Physiology of Cognition

Demertzi, Athina ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA CRC In vivo Imaging - Physiology of Cognition

Language :

English

Title :

Relating mind-blanking to the content and dynamics of spontaneous thinking

Publication date :

01 February 2025

Journal title :

Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences

ISSN :

2352-1546

eISSN :

2352-1554

Publisher :

Elsevier, United Kingdom

Special issue title :

Consciousness on the Borders of Life and Death

Volume :

Pages :

101481

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352154624001323?via%3Dihub

Funding text :

At the time of submission, PAB was an FNRS Research Fellow. AD is an FNRS Research Associate. This work was supported by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Marie Skłodowska-Curie RISE program NeuronsXnets (grant agreement 101007926), the European Cooperation in Science and Technology COST Action (CA18106), the Léon Fredericq Foundation, the University Hospital of Liège and the University of Liège. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Available on ORBi :

since 30 April 2024

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