Colored motifs reveal computational building blocks in the C. elegans brain.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Complex networks can often be decomposed into less complex sub-networks whose structures can give hints about the functional organization of the network as a whole. However, these structural motifs can only tell one part of the functional story because in this analysis each node and edge is treated on an equal footing. In real networks, two motifs that are topologically identical but whose nodes perform very different functions will play very different roles in the network.

Methodology/principal findings

Here, we combine structural information derived from the topology of the neuronal network of the nematode C. elegans with information about the biological function of these nodes, thus coloring nodes by function. We discover that particular colorations of motifs a

SUBMITTER: Qian J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3049772 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature