Abstract

The role of the Default Neural Network in the emergence of attention deficit disorder has received increasing scientific evidence in the last 20 years. This article aimed to systematize the empirical and quantitative evidence available in research on the role of the Default Neural Network in sustained attention and attention deficits in school children and adolescents; The methodology of systematic review of the scientific literature available between 2010 and 2020 was used. A sample of 13 studies was selected. The results showed that sustained attention is rhythmic and fluctuates along with working memory. Regarding children with attention deficit, anomalies in the availability of dopamine, thinning of the areas of the cerebral cortex interconnected with the Neural Network by Default, as well as hypo and hyper connectivity of the white matter tracts associated with this network are reported. These findings, interpreted as a whole, provide valuable evidence about the emerging role of the Default Neural Network in the underlying processes of sustained attention and the appearance of attentional deficits. These systematized findings can have profound implications in didactics and instructional design, due to the fact that there is sufficient and validated evidence to adapt the learning tasks to the rhythms of attention and rest since these processes obbey biological limitations and not to administrative requirements. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.