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Critically, topographic similarity was phase-based, as shown by its correlation with phase-locking value and the loss of associations with thought after phase-shuffling. This indicates that the neural signatures of both thought dimensions are strongly phase-dependent. Finally, we demonstrate that nonlinearity plays a distinct role mediating the impact of different timescales (slow and fast finger tapping) on spontaneous thoughts at both behavioral (precision error) and neural levels (topographic similarity). Overall, these results demonstrate that task-relatedness is associated with short timescales, whereas thought orientation is associated with long timescales. This highlights how distinct temporal dynamics shape different spontaneous thought dimensions on both their behavioral and neural features.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2427088122","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,17]],"date-time":"2025-09-17T17:47:38Z","timestamp":1758131258000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Distinct timescales dissociate spontaneous thought dimensions"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"122","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8087-4290","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jingyu","family":"Hua","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University","place":["Shenzhen, Guangdong, China"]},{"name":"Center for Psychological Sciences, Zhejiang University","place":["Hangzhou, China"]},{"name":"Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa","place":["Ottawa, Canada"]},{"name":"Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal\u2019s Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa","place":["Ottawa, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xianliang","family":"Ge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Psychological Sciences, Zhejiang University","place":["Hangzhou, China"]},{"name":"School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University","place":["Xian, Shaanxi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-9372-6027","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Min","family":"Dou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University","place":["Shenzhen, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuqi","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University","place":["Shenzhen, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liezhong","family":"Ge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Psychological Sciences, Zhejiang University","place":["Hangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3227-5370","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stuart","family":"Fogel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa","place":["Ottawa, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3591-3219","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jianfeng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University","place":["Shenzhen, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5236-0951","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Georg","family":"Northoff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa","place":["Ottawa, Canada"]},{"name":"Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal\u2019s Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa","place":["Ottawa, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_1_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.132.6.946"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn.2016.113"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/netn_a_00037"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000523944"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2010.21488"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_2","first-page":"1","article-title":"Is temporo-spatial dynamics the \u201ccommon currency\u201d of brain and mind? 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