The Seven Networks of the Brain

Functional networks of the cerebral cortex

The whole brain: seven networks

Even at rest, regions of the cortex that are far apart rise and fall in activity together. Regions that stay in step like this form a functional network. When Thomas Yeo and colleagues analysed resting-state fMRI scans from 1,000 people, the cortex divided reliably into the seven networks shown here in colour.

Most networks are not one lump: each is a set of regions spread across several lobes, joined by long-range connections.
Networks work together. Solving a problem, for example, draws on the frontoparietal control network to switch between the attention networks and the default mode network.
The map covers the cerebral cortex only — deeper structures such as the hippocampus, amygdala and thalamus aren't part of it.
Choose a network below to see where it is and what it does.

Seeing

Visual network

Processes what we see — edges, shapes, colour and movement — beginning in the primary visual cortex at the back of the brain.

Where: The occipital lobe: the primary visual cortex (V1) and the visual areas around it.
In use when: Reading this sentence, recognising a face, following a moving ball.
Worth knowing: Damage here can blind part of the visual field even though the eyes themselves work normally.

Moving, touching and hearing

Somatomotor network

Controls voluntary movement and processes touch and the position of the body. In Yeo's map it also takes in the nearby auditory cortex.

Where: The strip either side of the central sulcus — the motor cortex in front and the somatosensory cortex behind — plus the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe.
In use when: Typing, walking, feeling that a mug is hot, hearing your name.
Worth knowing: The body is mapped in order along the strip (the "homunculus"). The hands and face take up far more of it than the back or legs.

Choosing where to focus

Dorsal attention network

Directs attention on purpose: top-down, goal-driven focus on a place or a feature, including planning where to look next.

Where: The intraparietal sulcus and superior parietal lobule, and the frontal eye fields.
In use when: Scanning a crowd for a friend in a red coat, keeping your eyes on the word you're reading.
Worth knowing: It works in partnership with the ventral attention network: the dorsal network chooses where to focus, and the ventral network interrupts when something unexpected happens.

Noticing what matters

Ventral attention (salience) network

Detects important or unexpected events — bottom-up attention — and helps the brain switch between inward thought and the outside world.

Where: The temporoparietal junction, the anterior insula, the ventral frontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex.
In use when: Turning when someone calls your name, noticing a smoke alarm, sensing that something "feels wrong".
Worth knowing: It overlaps closely with what many researchers call the salience network.

Emotion, reward and value

Limbic network

Attaches emotional meaning, reward and value to what we experience, helping us decide what matters and what to approach or avoid.

Where: The orbitofrontal cortex, just above the eyes, and the temporal poles.
In use when: Enjoying a favourite food, weighing up whether a reward is worth waiting for, reading the emotional tone of a situation.
Worth knowing: This is the cortical part of the limbic system only. The amygdala and hippocampus lie deeper, outside this map.

Planning and control

Frontoparietal (control) network

The brain's flexible control system: it holds information in working memory, makes plans and adjusts behaviour to reach a goal.

Where: The lateral prefrontal cortex and the posterior parietal cortex.
In use when: Doing mental arithmetic, following instructions with several steps, switching between tasks.
Worth knowing: It acts as a hub that co-ordinates the other networks, and is sometimes called the central executive network.

Thinking inward

Default mode network

Most active when we aren't focused on the outside world — daydreaming, remembering the past, imagining the future, and thinking about ourselves and other people.

Where: The medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, and the angular gyrus, with links to the medial temporal lobe.
In use when: Mind-wandering in a quiet moment, replaying a conversation, planning the weekend.
Worth knowing: Its activity usually drops as soon as a demanding task begins. Unusual default mode activity has been linked to rumination in depression, and it is among the first networks affected in Alzheimer's disease.

English	Te reo Māori	中文（简体）	한국어	What it means on this page
Brain	roro	大脑	뇌	The organ that controls the body and produces thought, feeling and behaviour.
Cerebral cortex	no attested term	大脑皮层	대뇌 피질	The thin, folded outer layer of the brain. All seven networks are mapped across it.
Neuron (nerve cell)	pūtau io	神经元	뉴런	A cell that carries electrical signals. The cortex holds billions of them.
Nerve impulse	karere io	神经冲动	신경 충동	The electrical signal that travels along a neuron.
Nervous system	pūnaha ioio	神经系统	신경계	The brain, spinal cord and nerves, working together to control the body.
Functional network	no attested term	功能网络	기능적 네트워크	A set of brain regions, often far apart, whose activity rises and falls together.
Functional connectivity	no attested term	功能连接	기능적 연결성	How closely the activity of two brain regions stays in step over time.
Resting-state fMRI	no attested term	静息态功能磁共振成像	휴지기 fMRI	Brain scanning while a person lies quietly doing no set task — the method used to map these networks.
Visual network	no attested term	视觉网络	시각 네트워크	Processes what we see, from the occipital lobe at the back of the brain.
Somatomotor network	no attested term	躯体运动网络	체성운동 네트워크	Controls movement and processes touch, body position and sound.
Dorsal attention network	no attested term	背侧注意网络	배측 주의 네트워크	Directs attention on purpose, towards a chosen place or feature.
Ventral attention (salience) network	no attested term	腹侧注意（突显）网络	복측 주의(현저성) 네트워크	Notices important or unexpected events and redirects attention to them.
Limbic network	no attested term	边缘网络	변연계 네트워크	Gives experiences emotional meaning, reward and value.
Frontoparietal (control) network	no attested term	额顶（控制）网络	전두두정(통제) 네트워크	Holds information in working memory and co-ordinates planning and control.
Default mode network	no attested term	默认模式网络	기본 모드 네트워크	Active during inward thought: daydreaming, remembering and imagining.