Hub-activated signal transmission in complex networks.

A wide range of networked systems exhibit highly connected nodes (hubs) as prominent structural elements. The functional roles of hubs in the collective nonlinear dynamics of many such networks, however, are not well understood. Here, we propose that hubs in neural circuits may activate local signal transmission along sequences of specific subnetworks. Intriguingly, in contrast to previous suggestions of the functional roles of hubs, here, not the hubs themselves, but nonhub subnetworks transfer the signals. The core mechanism relies on hubs and nonhubs providing activating feedback to each other. It may, thus, induce the propagation of specific pulse and rate signals in neuronal and other communication networks.