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Pupillometric Evidence for the Decoupling of Attention from Perceptual Input during Offline Thought

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Smallwood
  • Kevin S Brown
  • Christine Tipper
  • Barry Giesbrecht
  • Michael S Franklin
  • Michael D Mrazek
  • Jean M Carlson
  • Jonathan W Schooler

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that the brain can efficiently process both external and internal information. The processing of internal information is a distinct “offline” cognitive mode that requires not only spontaneously generated mental activity; it has also been hypothesized to require a decoupling of attention from perception in order to separate competing streams of internal and external information. This process of decoupling is potentially adaptive because it could prevent unimportant external events from disrupting an internal train of thought. Here, we use measurements of pupil diameter (PD) to provide concrete evidence for the role of decoupling during spontaneous cognitive activity. First, during periods conducive to offline thought but not during periods of task focus, PD exhibited spontaneous activity decoupled from task events. Second, periods requiring external task focus were characterized by large task evoked changes in PD; in contrast, encoding failures were preceded by episodes of high spontaneous baseline PD activity. Finally, high spontaneous PD activity also occurred prior to only the slowest 20% of correct responses, suggesting high baseline PD indexes a distinct mode of cognitive functioning. Together, these data are consistent with the decoupling hypothesis, which suggests that the capacity for spontaneous cognitive activity depends upon minimizing disruptions from the external world.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Smallwood & Kevin S Brown & Christine Tipper & Barry Giesbrecht & Michael S Franklin & Michael D Mrazek & Jean M Carlson & Jonathan W Schooler, 2011. "Pupillometric Evidence for the Decoupling of Attention from Perceptual Input during Offline Thought," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(3), pages 1-8, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0018298
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018298
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    Cited by:

    1. Alessio Matiz & Cristiano Crescentini & Anastasia Fabbro & Riccardo Budai & Massimo Bergamasco & Franco Fabbro, 2019. "Spontaneous eye movements during focused-attention mindfulness meditation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Stefan Huijser & Mathanja Verkaik & Marieke K van Vugt & Niels A Taatgen, 2020. "Captivated by thought: “Sticky” thinking leaves traces of perceptual decoupling in task-evoked pupil size," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(12), pages 1-28, December.
    3. Víctor Martínez-Pérez & Damián Baños & Almudena Andreu & Miriam Tortajada & Lucía B Palmero & Guillermo Campoy & Luis J Fuentes, 2021. "Propensity to intentional and unintentional mind-wandering differs in arousal and executive vigilance tasks," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-11, October.
    4. Lorenzo Maccioni & Yuri Borgianni & Demis Basso, 2019. "Value Perception of Green Products: An Exploratory Study Combining Conscious Answers and Unconscious Behavioral Aspects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-41, February.
    5. Ruud L van den Brink & Peter R Murphy & Sander Nieuwenhuis, 2016. "Pupil Diameter Tracks Lapses of Attention," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, October.

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