Search

Humans are constantly exposed to sequences of events in the environment. Those sequences frequently evince statistical regularities, such as the probabilities with which one event transitions to another. Collectively, inter-event transition probabilities can be modeled as a graph or network. Many real-world networks are organized hierarchically and understanding how humans learn these networks is an ongoing aim of current investigations. While much is known about how humans learn basic transition graph topology, whether and to what degree humans can learn hierarchical structures in such graphs remains unknown. We investigate how humans learn hierarchical graphs of the Sierpi\'nski family using computer simulations and behavioral laboratory experiments. We probe the mental estimates of transition probabilities via the surprisal effect: a phenomenon in which humans react more slowly to less expected transitions, such as those between communities or modules in the network. Using mean-field predictions and numerical simulations, we show that surprisal effects are stronger for finer-level than coarser-level hierarchical transitions. Surprisal effects at coarser levels of the hierarchy are difficult to detect for limited learning times or in small samples. Using a serial response experiment with human participants (n=$100$), we replicate our predictions by detecting a surprisal effect at the finer-level of the hierarchy but not at the coarser-level of the hierarchy. To further explain our findings, we evaluate the presence of a trade-off in learning, whereby humans who learned the finer-level of the hierarchy better tended to learn the coarser-level worse, and vice versa. Our study elucidates the processes by which humans learn hierarchical sequential events. Our work charts a road map for future investigation of the neural underpinnings and behavioral manifestations of graph learning., Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, 1 table

In multiple academic disciplines, having a perceived gender of `woman' is associated with a lower than expected rate of citations. In some fields, that disparity is driven primarily by the citations of men and is increasing over time despite increasing diversification of the profession. It is likely that complex social interactions and individual ideologies shape these disparities. Computational models of select factors that reproduce empirical observations can help us understand some of the minimal driving forces behind these complex phenomena and therefore aid in their mitigation. Here, we present a simple agent-based model of citation practices within academia, in which academics generate citations based on three factors: their estimate of the collaborative network of the field, how they sample that estimate, and how open they are to learning about their field from other academics. We show that increasing homophily -- or the tendency of people to interact with others more like themselves -- in these three domains is sufficient to reproduce observed biases in citation practices. We find that homophily in sampling an estimate of the field influences total citation rates, and openness to learning from new and unfamiliar authors influences the change in those citations over time. We next model a real-world intervention -- the citation diversity statement -- which has the potential to influence both of these parameters. We determine a parameterization of our model that matches the citation practices of academics who use the citation diversity statement. This parameterization paired with an openness to learning from many new authors can result in citation practices that are equitable and stable over time. Ultimately, our work underscores the importance of homophily in shaping citation practices and provides evidence that specific actions may mitigate biased citation practices in academia.

Precisely how humans process relational patterns of information in knowledge, language, music, and society is not well understood. Prior work in the field of statistical learning has demonstrated that humans process such information by building internal models of the underlying network structure. However, these mental maps are often inaccurate due to limitations in human information processing. The existence of such limitations raises clear questions: Given a target network that one wishes for a human to learn, what network should one present to the human? Should one simply present the target network as-is, or should one emphasize certain parts of the network to proactively mitigate expected errors in learning? To answer these questions, we study the optimization of network learnability. Evaluating an array of synthetic and real-world networks, we find that learnability is enhanced by reinforcing connections within modules or clusters. In contrast, when networks contain significant core-periphery structure we find that learnability is best optimized by reinforcing peripheral edges between low-degree nodes. Overall, our findings suggest that the accuracy of human network learning can be systematically enhanced by targeted emphasis and de-emphasis of prescribed sectors of information.

A central challenge in the computational modeling of neural dynamics is the trade-off between accuracy and simplicity. At the level of individual neurons, nonlinear dynamics are both experimentally established and essential for neuronal functioning. An implicit assumption has thus formed that an accurate computational model of whole-brain dynamics must also be highly nonlinear, whereas linear models may provide a first-order approximation. Here, we provide a rigorous and data-driven investigation of this hypothesis at the level of whole-brain blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) and macroscopic field potential dynamics by leveraging the theory of system identification. Using functional MRI (fMRI) and intracranial EEG (iEEG), we model the resting state activity of 700 subjects in the Human Connectome Project (HCP) and 122 subjects from the Restoring Active Memory (RAM) project using state-of-the-art linear and nonlinear model families. We assess relative model fit using predictive power, computational complexity, and the extent of residual dynamics unexplained by the model. Contrary to our expectations, linear auto-regressive models achieve the best measures across all three metrics, eliminating the trade-off between accuracy and simplicity. To understand and explain this linearity, we highlight four properties of macroscopic neurodynamics which can counteract or mask microscopic nonlinear dynamics: averaging over space, averaging over time, observation noise, and limited data samples. Whereas the latter two are technological limitations and can improve in the future, the former two are inherent to aggregated macroscopic brain activity. Our results, together with the unparalleled interpretability of linear models, can greatly facilitate our understanding of macroscopic neural dynamics and the principled design of model-based interventions for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Over one third of the estimated 3 million people with epilepsy in the US are medication resistant. Responsive neurostimulation from chronically implanted electrodes provides a promising treatment option and alternative to resective surgery. However, determining personalized optimal stimulation parameters, including when and where to intervene to guarantee a positive patient outcome, is a major open challenge. Network neuroscience and control theory offer useful tools that may guide improvements in parameter selection for control of anomalous neural activity. Here we use a novel method to characterize dynamic controllability across consecutive effective connectivity (EC) networks based on regularized partial correlations between implanted electrodes during the onset, propagation, and termination phases of thirty-four seizures. We estimate regularized partial correlation adjacency matrices from one-second time windows of intracranial electrocorticography recordings using the Graphical Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (GLASSO). Average and modal controllability metrics calculated from each resulting EC network track the time-varying controllability of the brain on an evolving landscape of conditionally dependent network interactions. We show that average controllability increases throughout a seizure and is negatively correlated with modal controllability throughout. Furthermore, our results support the hypothesis that the energy required to drive the brain to a seizure-free state from an ictal state is smallest during seizure onset; yet, we find that applying control energy at electrodes in the seizure onset zone may not always be energetically favorable. Our work suggests that a low-complexity model of time-evolving controllability may offer new insights for developing and improving control strategies targeting seizure suppression., Comment: Main text is 7 pages and contains 4 figures, supplement is 17 pages and contains 9 figures and one table

Predicting how the brain can be driven to specific states by means of internal or external control requires a fundamental understanding of the relationship between neural connectivity and activity. Network control theory is a powerful tool from the physical and engineering sciences that can provide insights regarding that relationship; it formalizes the study of how the dynamics of a complex system can arise from its underlying structure of interconnected units. Given the recent use of network control theory in neuroscience, it is now timely to offer a practical guide to methodological considerations in the controllability of structural brain networks. Here we provide a systematic overview of the framework, examine the impact of modeling choices on frequently studied control metrics, and suggest potentially useful theoretical extensions. We ground our discussions, numerical demonstrations, and theoretical advances in a dataset of high-resolution diffusion imaging with 730 diffusion directions acquired over approximately 1 hour of scanning from ten healthy young adults. Following a didactic introduction of the theory, we probe how a selection of modeling choices affects four common statistics: average controllability, modal controllability, minimum control energy, and optimal control energy. Next, we extend the current state of the art in two ways: first, by developing an alternative measure of structural connectivity that accounts for radial propagation of activity through abutting tissue, and second, by defining a complementary metric quantifying the complexity of the energy landscape of a system. We close with specific modeling recommendations and a discussion of methodological constraints.

Motor imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) use an individuals ability to volitionally modulate localized brain activity as a therapy for motor dysfunction or to probe causal relations between brain activity and behavior. However, many individuals cannot learn to successfully modulate their brain activity, greatly limiting the efficacy of BCI for therapy and for basic scientific inquiry. Previous research suggests that coherent activity across diverse cognitive systems is a hallmark of individuals who can successfully learn to control the BCI. However, little is known about how these distributed networks interact through time to support learning. Here, we address this gap in knowledge by constructing and applying a multimodal network approach to decipher brain-behavior relations in motor imagery-based brain-computer interface learning using MEG. Specifically, we employ a minimally constrained matrix decomposition method (non-negative matrix factorization) to simultaneously identify regularized, covarying subgraphs of functional connectivity, to assess their similarity to task performance, and to detect their time-varying expression. Individuals also displayed marked variation in the spatial properties of subgraphs such as the connectivity between the frontal lobe and the rest of the brain, and in the temporal properties of subgraphs such as the stage of learning at which they reached maximum expression. From these observations, we posit a conceptual model in which certain subgraphs support learning by modulating brain activity in regions important for sustaining attention. To test this model, we use tools that stipulate regional dynamics on a networked system (network control theory), and find that good learners display a single subgraph whose temporal expression tracked performance and whose architecture supports easy modulation of brain regions important for attention.

A fundamental understanding of the network architecture of the brain is necessary for the further development of theories explicating circuit function. Perhaps as a derivative of its initial application to abstract informational systems, network science provides many methods and summary statistics that address the network's topological characteristics with little or no thought to its physical instantiation. Recent progress has capitalized on quantitative tools from network science to parsimoniously describe and predict neural activity and connectivity across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Yet, for embedded systems, physical laws can directly constrain processes of network growth, development, and function, and an appreciation of those physical laws is therefore critical to an understanding of the system. Recent evidence demonstrates that the constraints imposed by the physical shape of the brain, and by the mechanical forces at play in its development, have marked effects on the observed network topology and function. Here, we review the rules imposed by space on the development of neural networks and show that these rules give rise to a specific set of complex topologies. We present evidence that these fundamental wiring rules affect the repertoire of neural dynamics that can emerge from the system, and thereby inform our understanding of network dysfunction in disease. We also discuss several computational tools, mathematical models, and algorithms that have proven useful in delineating the effects of spatial embedding on a given networked system and are important considerations for addressing future problems in network neuroscience. Finally, we outline several open questions regarding the network architectures that support circuit function, the answers to which will require a thorough and honest appraisal of the role of physical space in brain network anatomy and physiology.

Electrical brain stimulation is currently being investigated as a therapy for neurological disease. However, opportunities to optimize such therapies are challenged by the fact that the beneficial impact of focal stimulation on both neighboring and distant regions is not well understood. Here, we use network control theory to build a model of brain network function that makes predictions about how stimulation spreads through the brain's white matter network and influences large-scale dynamics. We test these predictions using combined electrocorticography (ECoG) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) data who volunteered to participate in an extensive stimulation regimen. We posit a specific model-based manner in which white matter tracts constrain stimulation, defining its capacity to drive the brain to new states, including states associated with successful memory encoding. In a first validation of our model, we find that the true pattern of white matter tracts can be used to more accurately predict the state transitions induced by direct electrical stimulation than the artificial patterns of null models. We then use a targeted optimal control framework to solve for the optimal energy required to drive the brain to a given state. We show that, intuitively, our model predicts larger energy requirements when starting from states that are farther away from a target memory state. We then suggest testable hypotheses about which structural properties will lead to efficient stimulation for improving memory based on energy requirements. Our work demonstrates that individual white matter architecture plays a vital role in guiding the dynamics of direct electrical stimulation, more generally offering empirical support for the utility of network control theoretic models of brain response to stimulation.