TY - JOUR
T1 - Go with the flow
T2 - A neuroscientific view on being fully engaged
AU - van der Linden, Dimitri
AU - Tops, Mattie
AU - Bakker, Arnold B.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience published by Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2020/11/9
Y1 - 2020/11/9
N2 - Flow is a state of full task absorption, accompanied with a strong drive and low levels of self-referential thinking. Flow is likely when there is a match between a person's skills and the task challenge. Despite its relevance for human performance and the vast body of research on flow, there is currently still relatively little insight in its underlying neurocognitive mechanisms. In this paper, we discuss a set of large brain networks that may be involved in establishing the core dimensions of flow. We propose that dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems mediate the intrinsic motivation and activate mood states that are typical for flow. The interaction between three large-scale attentional networks, namely the Default Mode Network, Central Executive Network and the Salience Network is proposed to play a role in the strong task engagement, low self-referential thinking, feedback and feelings of control in flow. The proposed relationships between flow and the brain networks may support the generation of new hypotheses and can guide future research in this field.
AB - Flow is a state of full task absorption, accompanied with a strong drive and low levels of self-referential thinking. Flow is likely when there is a match between a person's skills and the task challenge. Despite its relevance for human performance and the vast body of research on flow, there is currently still relatively little insight in its underlying neurocognitive mechanisms. In this paper, we discuss a set of large brain networks that may be involved in establishing the core dimensions of flow. We propose that dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems mediate the intrinsic motivation and activate mood states that are typical for flow. The interaction between three large-scale attentional networks, namely the Default Mode Network, Central Executive Network and the Salience Network is proposed to play a role in the strong task engagement, low self-referential thinking, feedback and feelings of control in flow. The proposed relationships between flow and the brain networks may support the generation of new hypotheses and can guide future research in this field.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096651498&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/ejn.15014
DO - 10.1111/ejn.15014
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33084102
AN - SCOPUS:85096651498
VL - 53
SP - 947
EP - 963
JO - European Journal of Neuroscience
JF - European Journal of Neuroscience
SN - 0953-816X
IS - 4
ER -