A tutorial in connectome analysis: Topological and spatial features of brain networks

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 57; no. 3; pp. 892 - 907
• Main Author: Kaiser, Marcus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.08.2011; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Algorithms; Brain; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain connectivity; Connectome; Cortical networks; Euclidean space; Graph representations; Humans; Medical imaging; Models, Neurological; Network analysis; Neural networks; Neural Pathways - anatomy & histology; Neuronal networks; Connectome; Brain connectivity; Neural networks; Cortical networks; Network analysis; Neuronal networks
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.05.025

High-throughput methods for yielding the set of connections in a neural system, the connectome, are now being developed. This tutorial describes ways to analyze the topological and spatial organizations of the connectome at the macroscopic level of connectivity between brain regions as well as the microscopic level of connectivity between neurons. We will describe topological features at three different levels: the local scale of individual nodes, the regional scale of sets of nodes, and the global scale of the complete set of nodes in a network. Such features can be used to characterize components of a network and to compare different networks, e.g. the connectome of patients and control subjects for clinical studies. At the global scale, different types of networks can be distinguished and we will describe Erdös–Rényi random, scale-free, small-world, modular, and hierarchical archetypes of networks. Finally, the connectome also has a spatial organization and we describe methods for analyzing wiring lengths of neural systems. As an introduction for new researchers in the field of connectome analysis, we discuss the benefits and limitations of each analysis approach. ► Connectome analysis is now feasible due to the availability of human brain network. ► Overview of analyzing topological and spatial network features. ► Outline of the main network archetypes and their characteristics. ► Critical discussion of each feature with human connectome examples. ► Outline of the comparison of different networks (e.g. for patients and controls).