The exploration-exploitation paradigm for networked biological systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new formalism modeling exploration and exploitation in biological networks, successfully applied to track brain development in C. elegans, providing insights into neural maturation processes.

Contribution

It presents a novel exploration-exploitation framework for biological systems, specifically applied to neural development, bridging evolutionary dynamics with network modeling.

Findings

Maxent description effectively captures brain development trajectory

Framework successfully models C. elegans neural maturation

Provides a new perspective on biological exploration-exploitation dynamics

Abstract

The stochastic exploration of the configuration space and the exploitation of functional states underlie many biological processes. The evolutionary dynamics stands out as a remarkable example. Here, we introduce a novel formalism that mimics evolution and encodes a general exploration-exploitation dynamics for biological networks. We apply it to the brain wiring problem, focusing on the maturation of that of the nematode C. elegans. We demonstrate that a parsimonious maxent description of the adult brain combined with our framework is able to track down the entire developmental trajectory.