The conundrum of functional brain networks: small-world efficiency or fractal modularity.

LAZAROS K. GALLOS; MARIANO SIGMAN; HERNAN A. MAKSE

Frontiers in Physiology

Frontiers Editorial

Año: 2012 vol. 3 p. 1 - 9

1664-2392

The human brain has been studied at multiple scales, from neurons, circuits, areas with we defined anatomical and functional boundaries, to large-scale functional networks whi mediate coherent cognition. In a recent work, we addressed the problem of the hiera chical organization in the brain through network analysis. Our analysis identified function brain modules of fractal structure that were inter-connected in a small-world topology. Her we provide more details on the use of network science tools to elaborate on this behavio We indicate the importance of using percolation theory to highlight the modular chara ter of the functional brain network. These modules present a fractal, self-similar topolog identified through fractal network methods. When we lower the threshold of correlatio to include weaker ties, the network as a whole assumes a small-world character. Thes weak ties are organized precisely as predicted by theory maximizing information transf with minimal wiring costs.