Chapter 21
Brain Morphological and Functional
Networks: Implications for
Neurodegeneration
Vesna Vuksanovi´ c
Abstract The highly complex architecture of brain networks has been characterised
by modular structures at different levels of its organisation. Here, the focus is on modular properties of brain networks from in vivo neuroimaging of cortical morphology
(e.g., thickness, surface area) and activity (function). In this chapter, I review findings
on the mapping of these networks, including the time-varying functional networks,
and describe some recent advances in mapping the macro- and micro-scales of brain
organisation. The aim is to focus on cross-level and cross-modal organisational units
of the brain, with reference to their modular topology. I describe recent approaches
in network sciences to form bridges across different scales and properties. These
approaches raise great expectations that cross-modal neuroimaging and analysis may
provide a tool for understanding brain disorders at the system level.
Keywords Brain networks · Cortical morphology · Functional networks ·
Neurodegeneration
21.1 Introduction
Traditional approaches to the analysis of experimental recordings of brain activity have focused on the localization of function to specific regions of the brain.
While such approaches have enabled progress in understanding neuronal processes
in the healthy and diseased human brain, recent work suggests that the description of
the brain as a set of independent functional elements is an oversimplification. Each
brain region—far from acting in isolation—is functionally connected to other regions
V. Vuksanovi´ c (B)
Health Data Research UK and Swansea University Medical School, Data Science Building,
Sketty,SA2 8PP Swansea, Wales, UK
e-mail: vesna.vuksanovic@swansea.ac.uk
Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, Institute for Medical Sciences University of Aberdeen,
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
A. Stefanovska and P. V. E. McClintock (eds.), Physics of Biological
Oscillators, Understanding Complex Systems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59805-1_21
329
Brain Morphological and Functional
Networks: Implications for
Neurodegeneration
Vesna Vuksanovi´ c
Abstract The highly complex architecture of brain networks has been characterised
by modular structures at different levels of its organisation. Here, the focus is on modular properties of brain networks from in vivo neuroimaging of cortical morphology
(e.g., thickness, surface area) and activity (function). In this chapter, I review findings
on the mapping of these networks, including the time-varying functional networks,
and describe some recent advances in mapping the macro- and micro-scales of brain
organisation. The aim is to focus on cross-level and cross-modal organisational units
of the brain, with reference to their modular topology. I describe recent approaches
in network sciences to form bridges across different scales and properties. These
approaches raise great expectations that cross-modal neuroimaging and analysis may
provide a tool for understanding brain disorders at the system level.
Keywords Brain networks · Cortical morphology · Functional networks ·
Neurodegeneration
21.1 Introduction
Traditional approaches to the analysis of experimental recordings of brain activity have focused on the localization of function to specific regions of the brain.
While such approaches have enabled progress in understanding neuronal processes
in the healthy and diseased human brain, recent work suggests that the description of
the brain as a set of independent functional elements is an oversimplification. Each
brain region—far from acting in isolation—is functionally connected to other regions
V. Vuksanovi´ c (B)
Health Data Research UK and Swansea University Medical School, Data Science Building,
Sketty,SA2 8PP Swansea, Wales, UK
e-mail: vesna.vuksanovic@swansea.ac.uk
Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, Institute for Medical Sciences University of Aberdeen,
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
A. Stefanovska and P. V. E. McClintock (eds.), Physics of Biological
Oscillators, Understanding Complex Systems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59805-1_21
329