Abstract
The lack of a formal link between neural network structure and its emergent function has hampered our understanding of how the brain processes information. We have now come closer to describing such a link by taking the direction of synaptic transmission into account, constructing graphs of a network that reflect the direction of information flow, and analyzing these directed graphs using algebraic topology. Applying this approach to a local network of neurons in the neocortex revealed a remarkably intricate and previously unseen topology of synaptic connectivity. The synaptic network contains an abundance of cliques of neurons bound into cavities that guide the emergence of correlated activity. In response to stimuli, correlated activity binds synaptically connected neurons into functional cliques and cavities that evolve in a stereotypical sequence towards peak complexity. We propose that the brain processes stimuli by forming increasingly complex functional cliques and cavities.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 48 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience |
Volume | 11 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 12 Jun 2017 |
Bibliographical note
This work was supported by funding from the ETH Domain for the Blue Brain Project and the Laboratory of Neural Microcircuitry. The Blue Brain Project's IBM BlueGene/Q system, BlueBrain IV, is funded by the ETH Board and hosted at the Swiss National Supercomputing Center (CSCS). MS was supported by the NCCR Synapsy grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation. Partial support for PD was provided by the GUDHI project, supported by an Advanced Investigator Grant of the European Research Council and hosted by INRIA. We thank Eilif Muller for providing input on the analysis, Magdalena Kedziorek for help with proving maximality in directed cliques, Gard Spreemann for help with the analysis of the C. elegans connectome, and Taylor H. Newton for helpful discussions about statistical methods.Keywords
- connectomics
- topology
- directed networks
- structure-function
- correlations
- Betti numbers
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Cliques of Neurons Bound into Cavities Provide a Missing Link between Structure and Function'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Profiles
-
Ran Levi
- School of Natural & Computing Sciences, Mathematical Science - Chair in Mathematical Sciences
Person: Academic