TPN, DMN, OCD, Flow, Memory Relationship.

Understanding the Brain’s Information-Processing Circuits: From Encoding to Active Recall

The human brain is a marvel of interconnected networks, each specializing in different aspects of cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and motivation. In this blog post, we’ll explore how these circuits—particularly the Task-Positive Network (TPN), the Default Mode Network (DMN), and their associated cortical and subcortical structures—work together seamlessly to encode, store, consolidate, and recall information, as well as how they relate to common conditions like ADHD and OCD.

Encoding: TPN vs. DMN

**“Guys during encoding our TPN does problem solving and pattern recognition while DMN mindless wandering also happens which is also responsible for pattern recognition, integrating the information and consolidating the memory to prior knowledge. TPN may require a Inquiry followed by pattern recognition while DMN may not require a Inquiry preceeding pattern recognition. Lock, Strike, Forge Because DMN does pattern recognition by intuition, experience, observation, a evolutionary survival advantage to respond to threats by instincts by pattern recognition without paying much attention. That is why distractions doesn’t always require a Inquiry preceeding pattern recognition.”

When we first encounter new information, the Task-Positive Network (TPN) engages in deliberate problem-solving and pattern recognition, actively querying and analyzing data. In parallel, the Default Mode Network (DMN)—known for mind-wandering—also performs pattern recognition, intuitively integrating information and consolidating it with prior knowledge. Unlike the TPN, the DMN can recognize patterns without an explicit inquiry phase, offering an evolutionary survival advantage by rapidly responding to threats.

Attention, ADHD, and the Prefrontal Cortex

“Also people who name themselves as having ADHD have poor attention because (mostly neurological dysfunction due to chronic stress) Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex responsible for cognitive skills, decision making, splitting attentional resources and management are impaired but it is trained by removing the person from stress and attention workout which makes it reversible as it is a skillset to develop. As this circuit is connected to Anterior Cingulate Cortex responsible for conflicts and error management (problem solving) and also to motor areas in the brain they are restless. Parallel to this is Dorsomedial Prefrontal cortex and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex which is responsible for social relation of oneself to others, value based decision making, restricting irrelevant responses, self referential thinking and evaluating emotional weightage of a decision or situation and adding belief or value to a thought. This is connected to Posterior Cingulate Cortex and it is responsible for DMN mindless wandering pattern recognition during rest and relaxation. Every human being operates in this circuit whether it is Musk or Justin sung or Top 1% students. It is just that dynamics and the information being processed in this circuit varies!”

Chronic stress can impair the Dorsolateral and Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex, leading to poor attentional control—often labeled as ADHD. The good news is that, through stress reduction and targeted “attention workouts,” these skills can be retrained, highlighting the brain’s plasticity. This prefrontal circuit interfaces with:

• The Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) for conflict monitoring and error management

• Motor areas, contributing to restlessness

• The Dorsomedial and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex, governing social cognition, value-based decision-making, and self-referential thinking

• The Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC), a core hub of the DMN responsible for mind-wandering and intuitive pattern recognition

The Wider Network: Parietal Cortex, RAS, and More

“The above circuit is connected to Parietal cortex responsible for spatial awareness, sensory integration, motor movements – spatial awareness acts like a cognitive spotlight which focuses more on what we focus and filters irrelevant information. The Global awareness and arousal system in the brain is Reticular Activating System which is responsible for the overall attention and awareness to information inside the brain which acts like a major filter. Temporal lobe is responsible for time perception, Temporality. It is responsible for distorting and dilating time as we focus. Insula is responsible for awareness emotional state of internal bodily sensations. Striatum and nucleus accumbens is responsible for dopamine in the dopaminergic circuit responsible for motivation.”

Beyond the prefrontal and cingulate cortices, these networks connect to:

• Parietal Cortex: Spatial awareness and sensory integration—our “cognitive spotlight”

• Reticular Activating System (RAS): Global arousal and attention filter

• Temporal Lobe: Time perception and temporal dilation during focused states

• Insula: Internal bodily awareness and emotional state monitoring

• Striatum & Nucleus Accumbens: Dopamine-driven motivation circuitry

Memory Encoding and Reconstruction: The Hippocampal Axis

“Hippocampus is responsible for initial encoding of information and after it processes and relates it to prior knowledge in Neo cortex, the information is stored in Neo cortex as knowledge structure with multiple relationships inside (mindmaps) like Justin says. The Hippocampus then acts like a index of memories being stored (Analogy of index of a book pdf clicking them will redirect to the respective chapters). So when we do active recall with the influence of the anti correlation TPN and DMN circuit through Hippocampus we get access to knowledge structure in Neo Cortex and we reconstruct the memory by adding/ substracting or strengthening the relationships. (Justin talks about it as reconstruction)This Hippocampus is connected to Parahippocampus which is responsible for contextuality of the information and Amygdala for emotional tone of the thought and information.Thalamus relays the hippocampus and Neo cortex so that information travels smoothly and it is also responsible for sensory integration and attention. It is a two way lane. It smoothens the pathway for seamless flow.Frontostriatal pathway, corticothalamic pathway, Frontoparietal pathway etc.. and all the above pathways are interlinked.”

The Hippocampus encodes new information and maps it onto preexisting cortical “mind-maps” in the Neocortex, acting as an “index” for memory retrieval. During active recall, the anti-correlated dynamics of TPN and DMN—channeled through the hippocampus—enable us to reconstruct memories by strengthening or modifying relational links. This axis involves:

• Parahippocampus: Contextual embedding of memories

• Amygdala: Emotional valence

• Thalamus: Bi-directional relay for sensory integration and attention

• Interlinked pathways: Frontostriatal, Corticothalamic, Frontoparietal, and more

Integration and Cognitive Flexibility

“This is how information/thoughts are being processed in brain and emotions, beliefs, values, decisions, attention, Temporality, relevancy, motivation, reward, context, flexibility, plasticity, social relation, motor movements, arousal, awareness, memory, knowledge, flow all are integrated. There are lot of interconnecting pathways in the above circuit responsible for the integration and dynamic adaptation and cognitive flexibility.”

All these regions and pathways coalesce to form a dynamic, adaptive network that underlies:

• Emotional and value-based decisions

• Attention and arousal regulation

• Temporal perception and mutability

• Motivation and reward learning

• Memory encoding, consolidation, and recall

• Social cognition and self-referential thought

• Motor planning and execution

• Cognitive flexibility and flow states

Clinical Example: OCD and Ritualistic Behavior

“For example :In OCD people having magical thoughts are having impaired or dysfunctional value based decision and through corticothalamic and striatal pathway they have obsessive intrusive thoughts which they fuse with by ventro and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Then they engage in ritualistic behaviour due to memory bias and get rewarded feeling and that emotional state is felt by Insula. They could have been mindful by which Insula trying to focus on the present moment or internal bodily sensations and defused by PF cortex and avoided the ritualistic behaviour (motor movement) and avoided the dopamine from the action which motivates the behaviour to continue further because the belief is being added by the Ventromedial and Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex which is magical in nature and has no cause and effect correlation. (edited)”

In Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD), dysfunctional value-based decision-making (via prefrontal circuits) and hyperactive corticothalamic-striatal loops give rise to intrusive thoughts. These fuse in ventromedial and dorsomedial PFC, leading to compulsive rituals reinforced by dopamine (felt via the Insula). Mindfulness—anchoring attention in the present moment—can help defuse these loops by engaging prefrontal control and interrupting the reward cycle.

Contextual Examples: Encoding, Recall, and Teaching

“For example: In the context of Encoding the information the same Prefrontal, (Lateral PF) TPN, DMN (Medial PF), anti correlation of TPN and DMN, ACC, PCC, Insula, Hippo, Parahippocampus, Neo Cortex functions. In the context of active recall TPN becomes actives and we give more focus and attentional resource on the task so pattern recognition of TPN functions and DMN works in the background consolidating the memory. Dynamically when DMN is active during relaxation or distraction TPN works in the background solving problems. The same reconstruction of memory happens in Neo Cortex (Library for Information -Semantic, Episodic, Procedural) which is being accessed through Hippocampus connected to the context from Parahippocampus.”

“For example: During teaching the information travels in the above circuit with more attention being paid and gaps in knowledge in Neo cortex are found which are being reconstructed by the working memory (in the episodic buffer) to Long term memory in Neo cortex through TPN, Hippocampus.

This is why teaching is effective because it actively finds gaps and we have the responsibility to fill them by encoding them properly and build good knowledge structures in Neo cortex by more of logical reasoning through Prefrontal Dorsomedial cortex then the information is given much priority, if the memory has more strengthened relationships so more relevancy of the information and it naturally sustains for a extended period rather than decaying easily in forgetting curve. (edited)”

• Encoding: Lateral PFC/TPN engages first, DMN supports integration and consolidation.

• Active Recall: TPN ramps up focus; DMN consolidates in the background.

• Teaching: Amplifies attention, reveals knowledge gaps in the neocortex, and leverages working memory (episodic buffer) and hippocampal indexing to strengthen long-term memory. This “gap-filling” and logical elaboration via dorsomedial PFC ensure durable learning beyond the forgetting curve.

Conclusion

By mapping each brain region and pathway—TPN, DMN, prefrontal subregions, cingulate cortices, hippocampal axes, RAS, parietal and temporal lobes, insula, striatum, and beyond—we gain a cohesive view of how the mind encodes, stores, and retrieves information; how it governs attention, emotion, and motivation; and how targeted interventions (from mindfulness to teaching) can optimize these processes. Whether you’re studying for an exam, seeking flow in your work, or understanding clinical conditions like ADHD and OCD, appreciating these networks empowers you to harness your brain’s full potential.