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The Default Network of the Brain

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PET and SPECT in Neurology

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Abstract

There is increasing interest in measuring large-scale functional-anatomic brain networks. This is fueled by the continued development over the last two decades of novel sophisticated neuroimaging procedures for assessment of brain networks in humans. Among multiple brain networks, the most frequently investigated system is the so-called default network. This network was originally identified as a set of brain regions consistently deactivated during tasks that require externally oriented attention. Later imaging studies showed that this network is active during internally focused cognitive processes such as moral decision making and planning of future behavior and also that it can reliably be identified during resting conditions. A growing number of studies indicate that various brain disorders are associated with dysfunction of brain networks, leading to the notion that measures of functional network integrity may serve as marker of neurologic and psychiatric disease states. For instance, disconnection of default network regions seems evident in very early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and a striking topographical overlap has been shown between default network regions and the spatial distribution of different diagnostic markers of Alzheimer’s disease such as amyloid deposition, hypometabolism, and brain atrophy. In this chapter, we summarize the most important milestones from discovery of the default network by means of neuroimaging procedures to promising clinical applications and possible pitfalls of functional network measures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 Thirteenth Street (Suite 2301), Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA

    Koene R. A. Van Dijk PhD

  2. Harvard University, Center for Brain Science, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Koene R. A. Van Dijk PhD

  3. Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany

    Alexander Drzezga MD

Authors
  1. Koene R. A. Van Dijk PhD
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Correspondence to Koene R. A. Van Dijk PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Rudi A.J.O. Dierckx

  2. Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Applied Sciences Offenburg, Offenburg, Germany

    Andreas Otte

  3. Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Erik F.J. de Vries

  4. Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Aren van Waarde

  5. Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Klaus L. Leenders

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Van Dijk, K.R.A., Drzezga, A. (2014). The Default Network of the Brain. In: Dierckx, R., Otte, A., de Vries, E., van Waarde, A., Leenders, K. (eds) PET and SPECT in Neurology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54307-4_8

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