Cristina Ottaviani, PhD | From mind wandering to perseverative cognition: Neurobiological signatures and long-term consequences

The ability to adaptively let our mind wander without ruminating or worrying (i.e., perseverative cognition) is critical to mental health. Data will be presented highlighting the costs and benefits of mind wandering from a behavioral, subjective, and neurobiological perspective both in the lab and naturalistically. Longitudinal data on the long-term outcomes of perseverative cognition in healthy and psychopathological individuals will be also shown, suggesting an association between a decrease in cognitive flexibility and a more marked presence of established health risk factors (e.g., autonomic rigidity).