The Default Mode Network: Your Brain's Internal Narrative
*Record Scratch* Hey, it's me. Well, you're probably wondering how I got here...
I’ve always been a daydreamer. On a lazy Saturday afternoon, I like to sit and watch the sky, scanning for airplanes as they languidly pass by. I often imagine the lives of those passengers - or wonder what my own life would be like if I were on that journey.
It turns out, this internal process involved in my daydreaming has a name - the Default Mode Network, often shortened to default network or abbreviated to DMN (personally, I think they could probably workshop the name a bit, but I digress). First identified more than 20 years ago by a group of researchers led by Dr. Marcus Raichle, it’s kind of like our brain’s internal narrator.
Why is this important? Understanding the DMN can help us recognize when our thinking may be getting influenced.
Let’s recap some key terms from the previous post, shall we?
Priming: Subtle cues that prep the mind to think along a certain path
Framing: Presenting information a certain way can guide interpretation
The DMN is active during times of “self-referential thinking,” or meta-awareness of your consciousness. In other words, when you become aware of your own thoughts. Consider the classic freeze-frame trope in TV and movies:
The DMN is a collection of brain regions that activate when our minds are at rest, and not focused on our environment. It guides that inner voice in our heads —whether we're reminiscing, imagining the future, or making sense of social cues.
So, how does the DMN interact with the world around us? Understanding its role in framing and priming can shed light on how we perceive and react to external messages.
The DMN, Framing, and Priming
As a recap, here’s another analogy to help make sense of framing - think of it as the psychological equivalent of stage direction for a play. Just as a director’s choices in emotional tone can guide an actor's performance, framing influences how we perceive and interpret information.
Imagine, if you will, a news story says a policy will "save 200 out of 600 people." Sounds pretty good, right? Now, picture the same report saying it "will result in 400 deaths." Notice how the same numbers—200 saved vs. 400 lost—spark drastically different feelings, despite being mathematically equivalent. This is the power of framing.
The DMN appears to be deeply involved in evaluating framed information through a personal lens. It’s doing more than just sifting through facts. When presented with framed language, your DMN lights up to answer two core questions:
“What does this mean for me, specifically?”
“How should I feel about this?”
In a recent study, neuroscientist Emily Falk found that activity in the DMN might help predict which public health messages people will later remember and act on. Participants in one session were shown various anti-smoking messages, and when their DMN lit up (i.e. their internal monologue was saying, “this applies to me”), they were more likely to have reduced their smoking or increased calls to quitting helplines, even weeks later.
When the DMN receives a framed message, it searches your past, values, and imagined future to decide what that message means to your story. And that shift in perception can be the difference between resistance and persuasion.
Priming sets the stage before your brain even knows a story is coming. Subtle cues—a word, image, or even a smell—can activate mental associations beneath your conscious awareness. For example, a 2005 study led by Dr. Henk Aarts showed that the scent of citrus in a given space could prime the mind to think of cleanliness and cleaning-related activities. That’s the power of Pine-Sol, baby! (Sorry, couldn’t resist).
Think of priming as handing your mental narrator some flashcards. “This is a story about danger,” one might say. Or: “This is about belonging.” When the full story begins—whether it's a news article, ad, or political message—your DMN already has the 411.
The DMN and Narrative Identity: The Sense-Maker
The DMN isn’t just the place where messages get interpreted—it’s also where we appear to store what my Belgian ancestors might call le récit de ma vie - or the Story of My Life (apologies to One Direction fans). It weaves together memories, values, goals, and emotions into a running personal narrative. And when something new happens—especially something emotionally charged—the DMN decides how (or whether) it fits into that personal narrative.
When the brain encounters a new persuasive message - say, an ad, or a political speech - the DMN runs it by our internal narrative. Messages tend to be particularly effective when they affirm some core part of our identity, whether that’s who we perceive we are, or who we’d like to be. This is why identity-based appeals (e.g., “You’re the kind of person who…” or “Real men don’t…”) can outperform fact-based arguments.
We can even see the DMN lighting up in neuroimaging. One study showed that when participants thought about a brand they had a high affinity for, areas of the DMN lit up that were associated with memory, indicating the brain was imagining how the product could fit into the person’s life.
Future Research
Understanding the DMN doesn’t just help us interpret messages - it also opens up new frontiers in mental health. There are lots of interesting angles in DMN research right now. For example, one exciting avenue involves the potential for psychedelics to boost neuroplasticity in the brain and help in treating mental illnesses. Studies from the NIH and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis noted that psilocybin seemed to temporarily “quiet” or disrupt the brain’s DMN. This allowed people to “reset” and form new thought patterns that they might not have otherwise.
Today’s Poll
📖 What I’m Reading:
Not long ago, I read God, Human, Animal, Machine by Meghan O’Gieblyn, which is a profound exploration of what it means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence. Will definitely warrant a re-read, as I’m not sure I’ve fully grasped all of its nuances.
🎵 What I’m Listening To:
Still making my way through Cat Ridgeway’s new album, Sprinter. For me, “What If” is one of the standouts; you can see how it helped inspire the intro to today’s piece.
Until next time,
Jonathan