Exploring the transmission of cognitive task information through optimal brain pathways
Zhengdong Wang, Yifeixue Yang, Ziyi Huang, Wanyun Zhao, Kaiqiang Su, Hengcheng Zhu, Dazhi Yin, Linden Parkes, Linden Parkes, Linden Parkes

TL;DR
This paper investigates how cognitive task information is transmitted through brain networks, finding that the shortest path is not always optimal and that spatial and functional factors improve predictions.
Contribution
The study introduces empirical evidence that cognitive information transmission is better modeled with direct paths and spatial-functional constraints rather than shortest paths.
Findings
Shortest path routing outperformed other communication strategies but was less accurate than direct path routing.
Incorporating spatial distance and functional asymmetry improved activity flow prediction accuracy.
Cognitive task information routing is constrained by the spatial and functional embedding of the brain network.
Abstract
Understanding the large-scale information processing that underlies complex human cognition is the central goal of cognitive neuroscience. While emerging activity flow models demonstrate that cognitive task information is transferred by interregional functional or structural connectivity, graph-theory-based models typically assume that neural communication occurs via the shortest path of brain networks. However, whether the shortest path is the optimal route for empirical cognitive information transmission remains unclear. Based on a large-scale activity flow mapping framework, we found that the performance of activity flow prediction with the shortest path was significantly lower than that with the direct path. The shortest path routing was superior to other network communication strategies, including search information, path ensembles, and navigation. Intriguingly, the shortest path…
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Taxonomy
TopicsFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies · Neural dynamics and brain function · Complex Network Analysis Techniques
