I will discuss the recent extension of network science in an emergent research area called Network Neuroscience in which the brain can be modelled as a combinatorial object, graph-theoretically, called the connectome. I will then discuss recent advancements in Network Neuroscience through the so-called “brain fingerprints.” In the 17th century, physician Marcello Malpighi observed the existence of patterns of ridges and sweet glands on fingertips. The next challenge for human identifiability is posed on brain data, particularly brain networks, both structural and functional. Specifically, I will briefly discuss the procedure used to uncover individual fingerprints of a connectome (as represented by a network/graph). Such procedure is based on the network reconstruction using group-wise decomposition in a finite number of brain connectivity modes.

 

In the second part of the seminar, I will discuss the application of a mathematical tool called network morphospace to understand how the brain (re-)configures itself to meet various cognitive demands from external environment. I will show that human brain, as a complex system, accomplishes these goals economically. Pre-prints for this project is available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.10962