Why do our minds wander?

A story on NPR about why our minds wander cited a UBC psychology study.

The Default Mode Network (DMN) tends to return to baseline levels of activity when we mentally remove ourselves from the world around us.

The UBC study by graduate student Melissa Ellamil and colleagues in professor Kalina Christoff’s lab found that areas in the DMN activated when while the mind wanders are associated with memory and attention. This challenges the notion that mind-wandering is completely passive.