Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity As a Transdiagnostic Biomarker of Cognitive Function

Affiliations

¹ Center for Brain Science and Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
² Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
³ Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁴ Faculty of Education, Department of Counseling and Human Development, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; Edmond Safra Brain Research Center, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
⁶ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
⁹ Department of Psychology & Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Electronic address: c.bauer@northeastern.edu.

PMID: 39798799
PMCID: PMC12207756 (available on 2026-04-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.016

Review

Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity As a Transdiagnostic Biomarker of Cognitive Function

Vaibhav Tripathi et al. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2025 Apr.

. 2025 Apr;10(4):359-368.

doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.016. Epub 2025 Jan 9.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Center for Brain Science and Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
² Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
³ Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁴ Faculty of Education, Department of Counseling and Human Development, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; Edmond Safra Brain Research Center, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
⁶ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
⁹ Department of Psychology & Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Electronic address: c.bauer@northeastern.edu.

PMID: 39798799
PMCID: PMC12207756 (available on 2026-04-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.016

Abstract

The default mode network (DMN) is intricately linked with processes such as self-referential thinking, episodic memory recall, goal-directed cognition, self-projection, and theory of mind. In recent years, there has been a surge in the number of studies examining its functional connectivity, particularly its relationship with frontoparietal networks involved in top-down attention, executive function, and cognitive control. The fluidity in switching between these internal and external modes of processing, which is highlighted by anticorrelated functional connectivity, has been proposed as an indicator of cognitive health. Due to the ease of estimation of functional connectivity-based measures through resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigms, there is now a wealth of large-scale datasets, paving the way for standardized connectivity benchmarks. In this review, we explore the promising role of DMN connectivity metrics as potential biomarkers of cognitive state across attention, internal mentation, mind wandering, and meditation states and investigate deviations in trait-level measures across aging and in clinical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and others. We also tackle the issue of reliability of network estimation and functional connectivity and share recommendations for using functional connectivity measures as a biomarker of cognitive health.

Keywords: Attention; Brain networks; Functional connectivity; Meditation; Mental health; Resting-state fMRI.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

References

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Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity As a Transdiagnostic Biomarker of Cognitive Function

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Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity As a Transdiagnostic Biomarker of Cognitive Function

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