Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 5, 2025
05:33
Three-Dimensional Shape Modeling and Analysis of Brain Structures
Published on: November 14, 2019
7.2K
The shape of memory in temporal networks.
Oliver E Williams1, Lucas Lacasa2, Ana P Millán3,4
1School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.
Nature Communications
|January 26, 2022
Summary
This study introduces a new mathematical framework to define and measure network memory, revealing diverse memory shapes across social, technological, and biological systems. Offline social networks exhibit particularly rich memory structures.
Area of Science:
- Complex systems science
- Network science
- Data science
Background:
- Defining and detecting network memory, the influence of a network's past on its structure, is an ongoing challenge.
- Temporal networks exhibit complex dependencies between link activities over time.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a mathematical framework for defining and estimating the multidimensional memory shape of temporal networks.
- To characterize the intricate interplay between link activities within a network's history.
Main Methods:
- Development of a novel mathematical framework to quantify microscopic memory shape.
- Validation using synthetic network models.
- Analysis of real-world temporal networks from social, technological, and biological domains.
Main Results:
- Temporal network memory is inherently multidimensional.
- Real-world networks display heterogeneous memory shapes.
- Offline social networks show significantly richer memory and memory scales compared to online networks.
Conclusions:
- The proposed framework provides a robust method for analyzing network memory.
- The findings offer insights into the structural differences between online and offline social networks.
- The theory elucidates emergent phenomena like virtual loops and offers new tools for complex system exploration.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Storage
149
A schema is a mental framework that helps individuals organize and interpret information. Schemata, formed from previous experiences, influence how we process new information: how we encode it, the inferences we make, and how we retrieve it. For instance, a schema for what a typical classroom looks like might include desks, a teacher's desk, a whiteboard, and students in such an environment. This expectation helps us quickly understand and navigate new classrooms without needing to analyze...
149
01:19Role of Hippocampus in Memory
611
The hippocampus, a critical brain structure, plays an essential role in memory processing, particularly in the formation and retrieval of memory. This small, seahorse-shaped region is located within the medial temporal lobe, with one hippocampus in each brain hemisphere. Experimental studies involving lesions in the hippocampi of rats have demonstrated significant impairments in tasks such as object recognition and maze navigation, indicating the hippocampus involvement in both recognition and...
611
01:19Understanding Memory
679
Memory is the retention of information or experiences over time, facilitated through three main processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Encoding is the process of inputting information into the memory system. For instance, when listening to a lecture, watching a play, reading a book, or having a conversation, the brain is actively encoding information. This initial stage involves transforming sensory input into a form that can be processed and stored by the brain. Various factors, such as...
679
01:23System of Memory
6.6K
Memory is categorized into three major systems: sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). These systems differ in their capacity and the duration for which they can hold information. Sensory memory captures raw sensory input from the environment, holding it for just a few seconds or less. For example, on hearing a brief, loud sound, like a car horn honking, the sound seems to linger in the mind for a moment even after it stops. This is an instance of sensory memory...
6.6K
01:21Forgetting
145
Forgetting is an intrinsic aspect of human memory, characterized by the gradual loss or inaccessibility of information over time. Hermann Ebbinghaus, a pioneering psychologist, extensively studied this phenomenon and formulated the forgetting curve. This curve illustrates that memory loss occurs rapidly immediately after learning and then decelerates over time. Several mechanisms contribute to forgetting, including encoding failure, storage decay, retrieval failure, and interference.
Encoding...
Encoding...
145
01:18Long-Term Memory
292
Long-term memory is a relatively permanent type of memory, capable of storing vast amounts of information over extended periods. Its storage capacity is generally considered unlimited.
Long-term memory can be categorized into two primary types: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves the conscious recollection of information that we deliberately try to remember, recall, and articulate. This type of memory encompasses specific facts, events, and...
Long-term memory can be categorized into two primary types: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves the conscious recollection of information that we deliberately try to remember, recall, and articulate. This type of memory encompasses specific facts, events, and...
292