Disambiguating dimensions of external and internal brain processes.
van Ede F., Gresch D., Nobre AC.
Neural processing is often categorized as externally or internally focused. Though commonly treated as poles of a single dimension, we delineate how the terms 'external' and 'internal' refer to independent concepts at the levels of cognitive modes, representational contents, and sensory origins. Separating these levels brings theoretical clarity and opens unexplored questions.