🧠 How does the brain decide what matters? And what happens when the neural “switch” that helps us shift attention between the inner and outer world becomes stuck?
In this episode of The DeepDive Lab, we explore the Salience Network (SN)—one of the brain’s most flexible networks, anchored by key regions including the anterior insula (AI) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Rather than simply processing one type of information, the Salience Network helps coordinate switching between major brain networks, including the Default Mode Network (DMN) and Central Executive Network (CEN). 🔬
What happens when this flexibility breaks down? A recent model of chronic pain proposes that the brain may become locked into a state that continually prioritizes threat and pain-related signals. Disrupted sleep, physiological stress, and autonomic imbalance may help maintain this state. 🌙⚡
We also explore repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and a fascinating question: could perturbing brain-network dynamics help restore neural flexibility?
From attention and brain connectivity to chronic pain and neuromodulation, this episode explores the remarkable role of the Salience Network in shaping what the brain considers important.
Sources: Chen et al. (2016), PLOS Biology; Ho & Ryan (2026), Frontiers in Pain Research.
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