The Phenomenal Contents and Neural Correlates of Spontaneous Thoughts across Wakefulness, NREM Sleep, and REM Sleep
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience May 31, 2017 Lampros Perogamvros, Benjamin Baird, Mitja Seibold et al. 76 citations
Spontaneous thoughts occur during wakefulness, NREM sleep, and REM sleep, and all share activation in the midcingulate cortex. Waking thoughts additionally involve a medial prefrontal region linked to metacognition and have more metacognitive content than sleep thoughts. REM sleep thoughts are more social in content. The findings suggest a core neural substrate for thoughts across behavioral states, with medial prefrontal regions contributing to metacognitive qualities during wake.