Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31444333›Full record

ArticleNature communications2019

Left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex supports context-dependent prioritisation of off-task thought.

A Turnbull, H T Wang, C Murphy, N S P Ho, X Wang, M Sormaz, T Karapanagiotidis, R M Leech, B Bernhardt, D S Margulies and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
81citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

81 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Uncovering the embodied dimension of the wandering mind.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Behavioral, experiential, and physiological signatures of mind blanking.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Memory control deficits in the sleep-deprived human brain.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

A TurnbullDepartment of Psychology, University of York, York, UK. agt520@york.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1629-562X
H T WangDepartment of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4078-2038
C MurphyDepartment of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.
N S P HoDepartment of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.
X WangDepartment of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.
M SormazDepartment of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.
T KarapanagiotidisDepartment of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.
R M LeechCentre for Neuroimaging Science, Kings College, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5801-6318
B BernhardtMultimodal Imaging and Connectome Analysis Lab, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
D S MarguliesCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle epiniere, Paris, France.
D VatanseverInstitute of Science and Technology for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2494-9945
E JefferiesDepartment of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.
J SmallwoodDepartment of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

When environments lack compelling goals, humans often let their minds wander to thoughts with greater personal relevance; however, we currently do not understand how this context-dependent prioritisation process operates. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) maintains goal representations in a context-dependent manner. Here, we show this region is involved in prioritising off-task thought in an analogous way. In a whole brain analysis we established that neural activity in DLPFC is high both when 'on-task' under demanding conditions and 'off-task' in a non-demanding task. Furthermore, individuals who increase off-task thought when external demands decrease, show lower correlation between neural signals linked to external tasks and lateral regions of the DMN within DLPFC, as well as less cortical grey matter in regions sensitive to these external task relevant signals. We conclude humans prioritise daydreaming when environmental demands decrease by aligning cognition with their personal goals using DLPFC.

Indexed as

AdolescentBrain MappingCognitionFemaleHealthy VolunteersHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleNerve NetPrefrontal CortexRestThinkingYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID31444333
PMCPMC6707151

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.