Two sub-networks are at work in the brain when we imagine the future: one focused on creating the new event and another on evaluating whether that event is positive or negative, according to new research
In quiet moments, the brain likes to wander—to the events of tomorrow, an unpaid bill, an upcoming vacation.
Despite little external stimulation in these instances, a part of the brain called the default mode network (DMN) is hard at work.
“These regions seem to be active when people aren’t asked to do anything in particular, as opposed to being asked to do something cognitively,” says Joseph Kable, a professor in the psychology department at the University of Pennsylvania.