Summary
International Symposium on Nonlinear Theory and its Applications
2010
Session Number:A2L-A
Session:
Number:A2L-A2
Hierarchical and Modular organization of Corticocortical Networks supports Functional Integration and Segregation in the Mammalian Brain
Gorka Zamora-Lopez, Changsong Zhou, Jurgen Kurths,
pp.79-82
Publication Date:2010/9/5
Online ISSN:2188-5079
Summary:
There is increasing evidence that the architecture of corticocortical networks support the capacity of the brain to simultaneously segregate and integrate information. Here, we confront the concept of integration, which is rarely addressed in the literature of information theory, to cross-validate the functional implications assigned to such networks. We propose a novel framework to quantify the segregative and integrative properties of cortical networks by defining a minimal set of conditions their nodes need to obey from a functional perspective. Application of these conditions shows that a particular set of cortical areas are highly responsible for the integration of multisensory information. This set coincides with the areas predicted from the purely topological analysis to perform such a function. Our findings are in agreement with modern models which propose that high-level brain functions emerge from interactive and overlapping networks of neurones which trascend any of the traditional subdivisions of the cortex by structural (cytoarchytecture) and functional criteria.