Schedule of Events | Symposia

EEG microstates covary with ongoing spontaneous thought

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Anthony Zanesco¹ (apza225@uky.edu), Shirley Pandya², Ekaterina Denkova², Amishi Jha²; ¹University of Kentucky, ²University of Miami

Understanding the functional relevance of intrinsic brain activity requires examining the link between ongoing brain dynamics during rest and different patterns of spontaneous thought. The large-scale electrophysiological events known as electroencephalographic (EEG) microstates provide an important window into the activity of neuronal networks at the millisecond time scale, and sequences of microstates are thought to reflect cognitive and perceptual states. Yet, attempts to link momentary thoughts to the dynamics of microstates through more temporally precise experience sampling methods have been limited. We address this gap by asking participants (N = 64) to report on the content and quality of their spontaneous thought across nine experiential dimensions by answering questions adapted from the Amsterdam Resting-State Questionnaire (ARSQ) after eight separate 2-minute periods of eyes-closed rest. We found that individuals’ thought content varied substantially from one moment to the next and was coupled with the dynamics of microstates. While all nine dimensions were associated with features of microstate dynamics, there were several notable patterns. Specifically, the prevalence, duration, and rates of occurrence of microstate C were positively associated with self-oriented thought, whereas microstate E was negatively associated with self-oriented thought but positively associated with more directed patterns of thought involved in future-oriented planning and problem solving. Together, these findings elucidate the functional relevance of microstates by linking their dynamics to distinct dimensions of spontaneous thought and demonstrate the utility of more temporally precise experience sampling approaches to capture thoughts in individuals at rest.

Topic Area: THINKING: Other