RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Spatiotemporal ontogeny of brain wiring
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 385369
DO 10.1101/385369
A1 Alexandros Goulas
A1 Richard F. Betzel
A1 Claus C. Hilgetag
YR 2018
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/08/05/385369.abstract
AB The wiring of the brain provides the anatomical skeleton for cognition and behavior. Connections among brain regions have a diverse and characteristic strength. This strength heterogeneity is captured by the wiring cost and homophily principles. Moreover, brains have a characteristic global network topology, including modularity and short path lengths. However, the mechanisms underlying the inter-regional wiring principles and global network topology of brains are unknown. Here, we address this issue by modeling the ontogeny of brain connectomes. We demonstrate that spatially embedded and heterochronous neurogenetic gradients, without the need of axonal-guidance molecules or activity-dependent plasticity, can reconstruct the wiring principles and shape the global network topology observed in adult brain connectomes. Thus, two fundamental dimensions, that is, space and time, are key components of a plausible neurodevelopmental mechanism with a universal scope, encompassing vertebrate and invertebrate brains.