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Yes, Our Brains Have an Auto-Pilot Mode and It Explains So Much

A new study finds evidence that our brain’s “default mode network” may help us perform routine tasks on “autopilot.”

Yes, Our Brains Have an Auto-Pilot Mode and It Explains So Much
Lorena Valdez/Flickr.

Ever driven a long distance and been shocked to arrive at your destination with no memory of the trip itself? Turns out a wandering mind is nothing to worry about, and that daydreaming may, in fact, be linked to a brain mechanism that spares you from focusing on the daily grind.

A new study sheds further light on the little-known workings of the brain’s default mode network (DMN), a group of interconnected brain regions believed to be responsible for daydreaming and mind wandering. Its results provide compelling evidence that, in addition to helping spur “eureka” moments in well-known daydreamers from Einstein to Archimedes, the DMN plays an integral role in our ability to perform tasks on autopilot, allowing us to guess likely outcomes ahead of time, and thus devote fewer mental resources to mundane tasks.

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