Revisiting consciousness: Distinguishing between states of conscious focused attention and mind wandering with EEG

•The P3 ERP was attenuated prior to reported episodes of mind wandering (MW).•Increases in delta, theta and alpha were found prior to reported episodes of MW.•Beta attenuation prior to reports of MW was limited to the right hemisphere.•Findings pertaining to ERP and oscillatory activity are task-independent.•Trait MW positively correlated with delta and gamma but negatively with the TBR.