Resting-state brain networks have been found to display relatively stable anatomical distributions and functional attributes of ongoing brain dynamics [46]. Among the seven major resting state networks described by Raichle [47], the default mode network (DMN) is the most well-characterized network. The DMN plays a central role in the intrinsic network properties and organization [48] and represents basic neural activity underlying self-referential thought, mentation, and introspection [49]. According to Molnar-Szakacs and Uddin [50], nodes of the DMN selectively interact with brain systems for embodiment and mentalizing, including the mirror neuron system, to produce appropriate cognitive mappings demanded by the ongoing mental or social context. DMN nodes also modulate cognitive processing during task-related activity [51], resulting in task-related suppression in the DMN regions [52]. Further, a lack of such suppression in DMN nodes during cognitive processing has been observed in psychopathology [53]. Therefore, studying DMN is important to understand ongoing mental processes as well as resting state brain dynamics in AUD individuals.
