{"id":8358,"date":"2024-05-22T18:00:43","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T09:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/?page_id=8358"},"modified":"2024-05-22T13:08:53","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T04:08:53","slug":"kishima2024-5-17","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/activities\/results\/2024year\/kishima2024-5-17","title":{"rendered":"Takamitsu Iwata, Takufumi Yanagisawa, Haruhiko Kishima \u226aNeurosurgery\u226b <span>From ripples to daydreams: the brain activity behind mind wandering<\/span>"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"linkBar clearfix\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/activities\/results\/2024year\/kishaima2024-5-17\">Text in Japanese<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"lineFrame\">Nature Communications<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Researchers from Osaka University find that mind wandering, especially when associated with less pleasurable and more vivid and imaginative self-generated thoughts, is associated with a specific pattern of brain activity linked to memory and sleep.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8361 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig1-400x338.jpg?_t=1715752966\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig1-400x338.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig1-768x649.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig1.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><br \/>Figure 1. An epilepsy patient with intracranial electrodes implanted in the hippocampus answering questions about the content of the patient\u2019s thoughts while measuring electroencephalography.<\/p>\n<div class=\"TextBlock\">\n<p>Part of what makes us human is our ability to think about people, places, or events that aren\u2019t currently present\u2014but we still don\u2019t know exactly how our brains do this. Now, researchers from Osaka University have identified a specific kind of brain activity linked with these kinds of thoughts, such as when we daydream or let our minds wander.<\/p>\n<p>When we think about things that aren\u2019t actually happening, like when we daydream, the brain is essentially making up information rather than receiving and processing it\u2014for this reason, researchers classify it as a \u201cself-generated\u201d brain state. In a recent study published in <em>Nature Communications<\/em>, researchers from Japan have identified that these self-generated states are associated with a specific pattern of brain activity known as \u201csharp-wave ripples.\u201d These ripples start in the hippocampus, a brain region that is essential for making and retrieving memories.<\/p>\n<p>To study the relationship between these sharp-wave ripples and different kinds of thoughts, the research team made use of the information that\u2019s collected when patients with drug-resistant epilepsy are about to undergo surgery (to remove the starting point of the epileptic activity in the brain). Intracranial electrodes are implanted in the hippocampus in these patients and the activity in the brain is continuously tracked, so that the surgeons can identify the epileptic region and be sure that they aren\u2019t removing a part of the brain that will have unexpected consequences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe asked patients undergoing this electroencephalographic brain monitoring for 10 days to complete an hourly questionnaire relating to their thoughts and emotions,\u201d says lead author of the study Takamitsu Iwata. \u201cWe mainly wanted to see if we could identify any links between the recorded brain activity and how the patients were feeling and thinking at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In general, the sharp-wave ripples from the hippocampus were generated in patients at night (presumably during sleep). Furthermore, the research team noticed a link between increased sharp-wave activity and thoughts that were more vivid or imaginative and less desirable or task-related, i.e. when their minds wandered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNotably, although our study was conducted entirely on people with epilepsy, we did our best to remove epilepsy-related data so that the results are applicable to healthy populations,\u201d explains Takufumi Yanagisawa, senior author of the study. \u201cThe similarities between many of our results and those of previous studies, using other species or methods, indicate that our approach worked well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is increasing evidence that self-generated brain states, including mind wandering and intrusive thoughts, have complex links with intelligence, autism, attention deficit disorder, and happiness\/well-being. A better understanding of the brain regions and activity that cause these states may therefore help people with a range of different conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>###<\/p>\n<p>The article, \u201cHippocampal sharp-wave ripples correlate with periods of naturally occurring self-generated thoughts in humans,\u201d was published in <em>Nature Communications<\/em> at DOI: <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-024-48367-1\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-024-48367-1<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Summary:<\/strong> Researchers from Osaka University have found that a specific pattern of brain activity, known as \u201csharp-wave ripples,\u201d is associated with thoughts that wander from the present situation. This activity begins in the hippocampus, a crucial brain region for memory formation and recall, and is linked to more vivid and less desirable thoughts. A better understanding of the relationship between sharp-wave ripples and these kinds of thoughts might be helpful for treating related conditions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tweet<\/strong>: Waves and ripples: mind wandering states are associated with #sharp-wave #ripple activity in the #brain\u2019s #hippocampal region, say researchers from @osaka_univ_e<\/p>\n<p><strong>Primary Keyword<\/strong>: Life sciences<\/p>\n<p><strong>Additional Keyword<\/strong>: Neuroscience, Neuroimaging, Electroencephalography, EEG activity, Hippocampus, Daydreaming, Cognitive function, Epilepsy<\/p>\n<p><strong>Method of Research<\/strong>: Observational study<\/p>\n<p><strong>Subject of Research<\/strong>: People<\/p>\n<p class=\"figure\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8367 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig2-311x400.jpg?_t=1715820140\" alt=\"\" width=\"311\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig2-311x400.jpg 311w, https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig2.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 311px) 100vw, 311px\" \/><\/a><br \/>Figure 2. Questionnaire used to survey the content of thoughts and feelings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"TextBlock\">\n<p class=\"figure\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8368 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig3-400x293.jpg?_t=1715820179\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig3-400x293.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig3-768x562.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iwata_fig3.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><br \/>Figure 3. The larger the letters in the word cloud, the greater the effect on the sharp-wave ripples.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"TextBlock\">\n<p>Title: \u201cHippocampal sharp-wave ripples correlate with periods of naturally occurring self-generated thoughts in humans\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Journal: <em>Nature Communications<\/em><em><br \/><\/em>Authors: Takamitsu Iwata, Takufumi Yanagisawa, Yuji Ikegaya, Jonathan Smallwood, Ryohei Fukuma, Satoru Oshino, Naoki Tani, Hui Ming Khoo, and Haruhiko Kishima.<br \/>DOI: <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-024-48367-1\">10.1038\/s41467-024-48367-1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Japan Society for the Promotion of Science,<br \/>Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development,<br \/>Japan Science and Technology Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Text in Japanese Nature Communications Researchers from Osaka University find that mind wandering, especially  [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8361,"parent":8108,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8358"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8358"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8373,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8358\/revisions\/8373"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.osaka-u.ac.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}