Zhang Xiaoru, Song Ming, Jiang Wentao, Lu Yuheng, Chu Congying, Li Wen, Wang Haiyan, Shi Weiyang, Lan Yueheng, Jiang Tianzi
Brainnetome Center, Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
School of Science, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, 100876, China.
Neurosci Bull. 2025 Apr 13. doi: 10.1007/s12264-025-01393-5.
The rich club, as a community of highly interconnected nodes, serves as the topological center of the network. However, the similarities and differences in how the rich club supports functional integration and segregation in the brain across different species remain unknown. In this study, we first detected and validated the rich club in the structural networks of mouse, monkey, and human brains using neuronal tracing or diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data. Further, we assessed the role of rich clubs in functional integration, segregation, and balance using quantitative metrics. Our results indicate that the presence of a rich club facilitates whole-brain functional integration in all three species, with the functional networks of higher species exhibiting greater integration. These findings are expected to help to understand the relationship between brain structure and function from the perspective of brain evolution.
富连接核团作为高度互联节点的集合，是网络的拓扑中心。然而，不同物种间富连接核团如何支持大脑功能整合与分离的异同仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们首先利用神经元示踪或扩散磁共振成像数据，在小鼠、猴子和人类大脑的结构网络中检测并验证了富连接核团。此外，我们使用定量指标评估了富连接核团在功能整合、分离及平衡中的作用。我们的结果表明，富连接核团的存在促进了所有这三个物种的全脑功能整合，高等物种的功能网络表现出更强的整合性。这些发现有望有助于从大脑进化的角度理解大脑结构与功能之间的关系。
