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Topic · Cognitive Neuroscience

Mind wandering and attention

Mind wandering and attention is a research topic within Cognitive Neuroscience. Science Explorer counts 8.2k research works in it since 1956. 10.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the neuroscience of mind wandering, attention lapses, and cognitive failures. It delves into the neural correlates, default network, executive system contributions, sustained attention, and the impact of boredom proneness on self-generated thought. The research also investigates the neurocognitive consequences and functional connectivity within intrinsic brain networks related to mind wandering.

  • Mind Wandering
  • Attention Lapses
  • Default Network
  • Executive System
  • Cognitive Failures
  • Neural Correlates
  • Sustained Attention
  • Boredom Proneness
  • Self-generated Thought
  • Neurocognitive Consequences
Research works
8.2k
fractional, since 1956
In the world top 10%
830
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+52%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
31% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Mind wandering and attention

Which countries lead Mind wandering and attention research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (670 and 418 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 670 works
  2. 2 China 418 works
  3. 3 United Kingdom 206 works
  4. 4 Germany 186 works
  5. 5 Canada 138 works
  6. 6 India 133 works
  7. 7 France 121 works
  8. 8 Japan 114 works
  9. 9 Türkiye 107 works
  10. 10 Australia 103 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 30.5%China: 19.0%United Kingdom: 9.4%Germany: 8.5%6 others listed: 32.6%31%largest
United States670 · 30.5%China418 · 19.0%United Kingdom206 · 9.4%Germany186 · 8.5%6 others listed716 · 32.6%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Mind wandering and attention research?

By volume in 2022-now, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique publishes the most Mind wandering and attention research, followed by University of Toronto and University of Waterloo.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 29 works
  2. 2 University of TorontoCanada 15 works
  3. 3 University of WaterlooCanada 15 works
  4. 4 Harvard UniversityUnited States 12 works
  5. 5 Islamic Azad University, TehranIran 12 works
  6. 6 University College LondonUnited Kingdom 11 works
  7. 7 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 11 works
  8. 8 Beijing Normal UniversityChina 11 works
  9. 9 Southwest UniversityChina 10 works
  10. 10 University of British ColumbiaCanada 9 works

Who are the leading researchers in Mind wandering and attention?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Mind wandering and attention include Ronald C. Kessler, Karl John Friston and Dan J. Stein.

  1. 1 Ronald C. Kessler United States 360k citations
  2. 2 Karl John Friston United Kingdom 310k citations
  3. 3 Dan J. Stein South Africa 306k citations
  4. 4 John C. Morris United States 241k citations
  5. 5 Trevor William Robbins United Kingdom 199k citations
  6. 6 Brenda W.J.H. Penninx Netherlands 190k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Mind wandering and attention?

The most cited paper in Mind wandering and attention is "Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: An integrative review." (Colin M. MacLeod, 1991), with 5,570 citations. Next come "The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and its correlates" (2,972) and "Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation" (2,945).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: An integrative review. Colin M. MacLeod · Psychological Bulletin Open access 1991 5,570
2 The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and its correlates D. Ε. Broadbent, P. F. Cooper, Peter L. Fitzgerald et al. · British Journal of Clinical Psychology Feb 1982 2,972
3 Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Richard J. Davidson, Jon Kabat‐Zinn, Jessica R. Malmstadt Schumacher et al. · Psychosomatic Medicine Jul 2003 2,945
4 Wandering Minds: The Default Network and Stimulus-Independent Thought Malia F. Mason, Michael I. Norton, John D. Van Horn et al. · Science Open access 18 Jan 2007 2,857
5 A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind Matthew A. Killingsworth, Daniel T. Gilbert · Science Open access 11 Nov 2010 2,570
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Mind wandering and attention research done?

The largest centres of Mind wandering and attention research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), London (United Kingdom), Tokyo (Japan) and Paris (France).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 71 works
  2. 2 LondonUnited Kingdom 53 works
  3. 3 TokyoJapan 39 works
  4. 4 ParisFrance 38 works
  5. 5 ShanghaiChina 28 works
  6. 6 New YorkUnited States 27 works
  7. 7 MelbourneAustralia 25 works
  8. 8 TorontoCanada 23 works
  9. 9 GuangzhouChina 22 works
  10. 10 IstanbulTürkiye 21 works
See Mind wandering and attention on the map

Where is the best place to study Mind wandering and attention?

Among universities, judged by research, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto and University College London score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%30%mean 14.42%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →University of Cambri…University College L…University of TorontoUniversity of Waterloo
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1University of WaterlooCanada 84.711.0%10.1×15 +14.1%
2University of TorontoCanada 69.311.9%2.8×15 +19.9%
3University College LondonUnited Kingdom 63.616.6%2.6×11 +27.8%
4University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom 61.726.4%2.5×8 +195.3%
5Harvard UniversityUnited States 59.416.1%1.4×12 -1.2%
6Beijing Normal UniversityChina 53.713.4%5.2×11 +123.4%
7University of British ColumbiaCanada 50.416.2%2.8×9 +7.0%
8King's College LondonUnited Kingdom 45.19.6%3.5×8 +4.5%
9University of HaifaIsrael 44.09.7%14.4×9 +17.2%
10The University of MelbourneAustralia 37.513.3%2.6×8 +42.2%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Mind wandering and attention, country by country

Is Mind wandering and attention research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 52% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Mind wandering and attention.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Mind wandering and attention as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.012% in 2024.

still counting0.0050%0.010%0.015%Mind wandering and attention0.014% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Mind wandering and attention over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Mind wandering and attention10.4% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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