Neural representations of self-generated thought during think-aloud fMRI
Hui-Xian Li,
Bin Lu,
Yu-Wei Wang,
Xue-Ying Li,
Xiao Chen,
Chao-Gan Yan
Affiliations
Hui-Xian Li
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; International Big-Data Center for Depression Research, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Bin Lu
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; International Big-Data Center for Depression Research, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Yu-Wei Wang
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; International Big-Data Center for Depression Research, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Xue-Ying Li
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; International Big-Data Center for Depression Research, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Xiao Chen
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; International Big-Data Center for Depression Research, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Chao-Gan Yan
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; International Big-Data Center for Depression Research, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Corresponding author at: CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China.
Is the brain at rest during the so-called resting state? Ongoing experiences in the resting state vary in unobserved and uncontrolled ways across time, individuals, and populations. However, the role of self-generated thoughts in resting-state fMRI remains largely unexplored. In this study, we collected real-time self-generated thoughts during “resting-state” fMRI scans via the think-aloud method (i.e., think-aloud fMRI), which required participants to report whatever they were currently thinking. We first investigated brain activation patterns during a think-aloud condition and found that significantly activated brain areas included all brain regions required for speech. We then calculated the relationship between divergence in thought content and brain activation during think-aloud and found that divergence in thought content was associated with many brain regions. Finally, we explored the neural representation of self-generated thoughts by performing representational similarity analysis (RSA) at three neural scales: a voxel-wise whole-brain searchlight level, a region-level whole-brain analysis using the Schaefer 400-parcels, and at the systems level using the Yeo seven-networks. We found that “resting-state” self-generated thoughts were distributed across a wide range of brain regions involving all seven Yeo networks. This study highlights the value of considering ongoing experiences during resting-state fMRI and providing preliminary methodological support for think-aloud fMRI.
