The Fallacy of a “Task-Negative” Network

In a neuroimaging study of goal-directed cognition, brain activity will be significantly greater than baseline in a frontoparietal “task-positive” network (TPN). Further, a number of regions will be deactivated in the cinguloparietal “task-negative” network (TNN), or default network. Although this generic statement characterizes many findings in cognitive neuroscience, these network labels are imprecise at best, and also transmit a profound misconception about the functional role of the default network in cognition. The dichotomization of “task-positive” and “task-negative” functional networks perpetuates the notion that the default network is not engaged in active cognitive processes. On the contrary, recent studies challenge this circumscribed view, demonstrating that: (1) the TPN comprises at least two functionally and anatomically distinct networks that play very different roles in cognition; and (2) the TNN (i.e., the default network) is not “task-negative” per se, but rather, is often engaged during goal-directed cognition, depending on the nature of the task. Further, (3) recent work demonstrates that components of these networks flexibly interact with one another based on task demands. These interactions raise important questions with respect to the role of the default network in goal-directed cognition and challenge the veracity and utility of a “TPN vs. TNN” distinction.