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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 2, 2025

Rapid Detection of Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes in Human Neural Precursor Cells NPCs

Rapid Detection of Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes in Human Neural Precursor Cells NPCs

Published on: March 2, 2018

Early path dominance as a principle for neurodevelopment.

Rostam M Razban¹, Jonathan Asher Pachter^1,2, Ken A Dill^1,2,3

¹Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|April 13, 2023

Summary

Brain network communication is robust against targeted attacks, showing invariance to aging and disease. Early developing tracts become the longest and densest, explained by a new percolation theory equation.

Keywords:

connectomics dMRI network neuroscience percolation theory statistical mechanics

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Network Science
Computational Biology

Background:

Understanding brain network organization is crucial for neuroscience.
Previous research has explored network resilience but lacked a developmental perspective.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of targeted network attacks on global brain communication.
To explore the developmental trajectory of white matter tracts using computational methods.

Main Methods:

Utilized diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data from UK Biobank, ABCD Study, and HCP.
Applied targeted attack simulations to systematically unlink brain networks.
Derived an analytical equation using percolation theory to model brain development.

Main Results:

Brain network communication demonstrated remarkable invariance to targeted attacks across aging and disease.
Tracts were found to emanate from regions already part of the giant cluster.
Early-developing tracts consistently became the longest and densest.

Conclusions:

Brain network architecture exhibits inherent robustness.
Percolation theory provides a framework for understanding brain development.
Neurodevelopmental processes favor the growth of tracts originating from established network hubs.