Skip Nav Destination
Close Modal
Update search
NARROW
Format
Journal
Date
Availability
1-1 of 1
Siemon C. de Lange
Close
Follow your search
Access your saved searches in your account
Would you like to receive an alert when new items match your search?
Sort by
Journal Articles
Connection strength of the macaque connectome augments topological and functional network attributes
Publisher: Journals Gateway
Network Neuroscience (2019) 3 (4): 1051–1069.
Published: 01 September 2019
FIGURES
| View All (8)
Abstract
View article
PDF
Author Summary High-resolution tract-tracing methods allow for the measurement of cortico-cortical anatomical pathways and quantification of their connectivity strength. The variable strength of neural pathways holds additional information on the complex organization of brain networks. We studied connectivity strength in the macaque by using the open-access connectome dataset of Markov and colleagues (2014), which contains high-resolution information on the number of axonal projections interconnecting brain regions. Our results show that connectivity strength adopts a nonrandom distribution and enhances key network features already present in the binary version of the network. Using the Kuramoto model to simulate functional dynamics, we further demonstrated that connectivity strength enhances local processing and global network integration. This study aids in the understanding of the macaque connectome by clarifying the role of connectivity strength in the network topology and functioning. Abstract Mammalian brains constitute complex organized networks of neural projections. On top of their binary topological organization, the strength (or weight) of these neural projections can be highly variable across connections and is thus likely of additional importance to the overall topological and functional organization of the network. Here we investigated the specific distribution pattern of connection strength in the macaque connectome. We performed weighted and binary network analysis on the cortico-cortical connectivity of the macaque provided by the unique tract-tracing dataset of Markov and colleagues (2014) and observed in both analyses a small-world, modular and rich club organization. Moreover, connectivity strength showed a distribution augmenting the architecture identified in the binary network version by enhancing both local network clustering and the central infrastructure for global topological communication and integration. Functional consequences of this topological distribution were further examined using the Kuramoto model for simulating interactions between brain regions and showed that the connectivity strength distribution across connections enhances synchronization within modules and between rich club hubs. Together, our results suggest that neural pathway strength promotes topological properties in the macaque connectome for local processing and global network integration.
Includes: Supplementary data