Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34679394›Full record

ArticleBrain sciences2021

The Neural Markers of Self-Caught and Probe-Caught Mind Wandering: An ERP Study.

Yong Liu, Jia Zhao, Xinqi Zhou, Xiaolin Liu, Hong Chen, Hong Yuan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Brain sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

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

  1. Pooled it
  2. Neurochemical Correlates of Mind-Wandering and Meta-Awareness.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  3. Task difficulty modulates the effect of mind wandering on phase dynamics.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
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

6 authors.

Yong LiuKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Jia ZhaoKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.ORCID 0000-0003-0230-887X
Xinqi ZhouSchool of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China.ORCID 0000-0002-5032-9141
Xiaolin LiuKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Hong ChenKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Hong YuanKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.

Funding

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities SWU1709106Humanities and Social Sciences pro-gram of Municipal Education Commission No.20SKGH295National Natural Science Foundation of China 31771237National Natural Science Foundation of China 31971028the Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission KJZD-K202002301
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mind-wandering (MW) is a common phenomenon, defined as task-unrelated thoughts. This study is based on event-related potentials (ERPs), using modified sustained attention to response task (modified SART, mSART) to discuss the neural patterns of different types of MW. In the current study, we defined the MW realized by participants as self-caught MW, and the MW measurement acquired by probes as probe-caught MW. The behavioral results showed that the reaction times (RTs) during self-caught MW were greater than those during non-self-caught MW. The ERP results showed that during self-caught MW, the mean amplitudes of N1 decreased significantly, indicating that the participants' attention had deviated from the current task. The increase in the mean amplitudes of P2 during self-caught MW indicated lower vigilance. We also found that the mean amplitudes of N300 reduced during self-caught MW, which indicated that cognitive control or monitoring might be affected by self-caught MW. The average amplitudes of P300 were significantly lower during probe-caught MW than during on-task, indicating the impact on high-level cognitive processing. In addition, the amplitudes of N1, P2, and N300 in anterior regions were greater than those in posterior regions. P300 amplitudes during probe-caught MW in the right hemisphere were greater than those of the left hemisphere. In summary, our research results demonstrated that alertness and cognitive processing decreased during both self-caught MW and probe-caught MW. ERPs were statistically different under the conditions of self-caught MW and probe-caught MW. The current study provided new insights into the relationship between MW and neural markers. It was the first study exploring the ERP correlates between self-caught MW and probe-caught MW based on mSART.

Indexed as

mSARTneural markersprobe-caught mind wanderingself-caught mind wandering

Identifiers

PMID34679394
PMCPMC8534158

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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.