Children who reported more present-focused and self-focused thoughts during the scan were considered as more mindful. These children spent less time in state 2, which may suggest that state 2 supports mind-wandering or another form of past or future-oriented cognition. They also spent less time in state 3, which may suggest that state 3 is associated with ruminative thought or episodic memory. 
However, these children were found to have a longer dwell time in state 5, which suggests that state 5 might reflect a more self-focused form of mind wandering. More more mindful children showed lower SEN-left CEN connectivity in state 4, which was characterized by positive connectivity among all network components. The researchers speculate that might reflect preferential conscious attentional processing over emotional value-based evaluation of stimuli.

Brain activity of more mindful children

Children who reported relatively less present-focused and self-focused thoughts during the scan were considered less mindful. These children spent a longer dwell time in state 2, which re-emphasises the point that state 2 might support mind-wandering or another form of past or future-oriented cognition. 

Brain activity of less mindful children

Positive DMN connectivity with left and right CEN components, positive connectivity between left and right CEN, negative SEN connectivity with left and right CEN, and negative DMN-SEN connectivity.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

When the Default mode network, Salience and emotion network, and Central executive network connect in different ways this results in different categorized brain states (as per this study). This connectivity can be positive, which means an excitatory connection, or negative, which means an inhibitory connection.

Connectivity between the neural networks results in different brain states

Marusak HA, Elrahal F, Peters CA, Kundu P, Lombardo MV, Calhoun VD, Goldberg EK, Cohen C, Taub JW, Rabinak CA. Mindfulness and dynamic functional neural connectivity in children and adolescents. Behav Brain Res. 2018 Jan 15;336:211-218. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.09.010.

Mindfulness and dynamic functional neural connectivity in children and
adolescents

Negative connectivity between SEN-right CEN, DMN-SEN, and left CEN-right CEN, and positive DMN connectivity with left and right CEN, as well as positive SEN-left CEN connectivity.


State 1

State 2

Positive DMN connectivity with left and right CEN, positive SEN connectivity with left and right CEN, weak DMN-SEN connectivity, and positive connectivity between left and right CEN.

State 3

Positive connectivity between all network components.

State 4

Weak connectivity among all components, except positive connectivity between left and right CEN. 

State 5

DMN is one of many RSNs that originated from the cognitive origin hypothesis, in this sense resting-state connectivity is a  synchronous fluctuation of low-frequency signals between functionally related brain areas

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