Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Self-organization and pattern formation in network-organized systems emerges from the collective activation and interaction of many interconnected units. A striking feature of these non-equilibrium structures is that they are often localized and robust: only a small subset of the nodes, or cell assembly, is activated. Understanding the role of cell assemblies as basic functional units in neural networks and socio-technical systems emerges as a fundamental challenge in network theory. A key open question is how these elementary building blocks emerge, and how they operate, linking structure and function in complex networks. Here we show that a network analogue of the Swift-Hohenberg continuum model-a minimal-ingredients model of nodal activation and interaction within a complex network-is able to produce a complex suite of localized patterns. Hence, the spontaneous formation of robust operational cell assemblies in complex networks can be explained as the result of self-organization, even in the absence of synaptic reinforcements.
Source: Scientific Reports
DOI: 10.1038/srep21360
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
Funder: U.S. Department of Energy
OpenAlex ID: W2264501115