NETWORK OPTIMIZATION IN THE BRAIN [I, 1991]: From C. elegans to Cerebral Cortex
NETWORK OPTIMIZATION IN THE BRAIN [I, 1991]: From C. elegans to Cerebral Cortex
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Date
2003-09-25
Authors
Cherniak, Christopher
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Abstract
How well do "Save wire" concepts from combinatorial network optimization
theory fit as models for brain anatomy? One result concerns ganglion
placement in the nervous system of C. elegans: Our exhaustive searches
indicate that the actual layout of the ganglia in the roundworm requires
less total interconnecting wirelength than any of the 40 million other
possible layouts -- a predictive success story. For the corresponding,
but combinatorially intractable, question of interconnection wire-
minimization in placement of the areas on the cerebral cortex sheet, we
tested instead an "Adjacency Rule": If components a and b are
interconnected, then they are contiguous. If cortical components are
placed to minimize total interconnection costs, one would expect
conformation to this rule; we found strong support for both macaque and
cat visual cortex, as well as C. elegans ganglia. [ MH49867 9/91 3.0 ]
(UMIACS-TR-2003-92)