Vértes Petra E
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Biol Psychiatry. 2023 Mar 1;93(5):464-470. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.11.012. Epub 2022 Nov 24.
Over the last decade, the organization of brain networks at both micro- and macroscales has become a key focus of neuroscientific inquiry. This has revealed fundamental features of brain network organization-small-worldness, modularity, heavy-tailed degree distributions-and has highlighted how these structural features support brain function. However, the driving forces that shape brain networks over the course of development have begun to be explored only recently. Here, we review recent efforts to gain insights into the mechanisms of brain development through generative modeling of both macroscale human brain networks and microscale cellular connectomes in Caenorhabditis elegans and other organisms. We show how these mathematical models can begin to shed light on the biological processes that drive and constrain the development of brain networks. Finally, we show how generative network models can translate genetic and environmental differences into variability in developmental trajectories, leading to diverse cognitive and mental health outcomes in children and young people.
在过去十年中，微观和宏观尺度上的脑网络组织已成为神经科学研究的关键焦点。这揭示了脑网络组织的基本特征——小世界特性、模块化、重尾度分布——并突出了这些结构特征如何支持脑功能。然而，塑造脑网络发育过程的驱动力直到最近才开始被探索。在这里，我们回顾了最近通过对宏观人类脑网络以及秀丽隐杆线虫和其他生物体中的微观细胞连接组进行生成建模来深入了解脑发育机制的努力。我们展示了这些数学模型如何能够开始阐明驱动和限制脑网络发育的生物学过程。最后，我们展示了生成网络模型如何将遗传和环境差异转化为发育轨迹的变异性，从而导致儿童和年轻人出现不同的认知和心理健康结果。
