Mindful science: TPN vs. DMN
“Look past your thoughts, so you may drink the pure nectar of This Moment.”
- Rumi
Modern technology allows scientists to map the brain in an effort to help us understand how and why we think and act the way we do. Within the past twenty years neurologists have identified a Task Positive Network (TPN: active and aware) and a Default Mode Network (DMN: restful and unaware) that our brain switches between based on our attention or lack thereof. When we are actively engaged in our environment the TPN area of our brain lights up. When we are thinking, daydreaming, worrying or not engaged in the present moment our DMN is activated.
Research tells us we spend about half of our day in the DMN, mindlessly completing our routines and tasks in this autopilot mode that does not require much of our attention, if any. Since we don’t have much control over our mind while switched to our DMN, we allow for negative thinking to seep in that can cause anxiety from unchecked worry about past or future events. A weak connection between the TPN and DMN has been linked to mental health disorders like depression, Alzheimer’s and autism. Our DMN is also where we plan and allow our mind to figure out complex solutions with less distractions, so it does have it’s benefits.
