Networks of the Brain

by Olaf Sporns

An integrative overview of network approaches to neuroscience explores the origins of brain complexity and the link between brain structure and function. Over the last decade, the study of complex networks has expanded across diverse scientific fields. Increasingly, science is concerned with the structure, behavior, and evolution of complex systems ranging from cells to ecosystems. In Networks of the Brain , Olaf Sporns describes how the integrative nature of brain function can be illuminated from a complex network perspective. Highlighting the many emerging points of contact between neuroscience and network science, the book serves to introduce network theory to neuroscientists and neuroscience to those working on theoretical network models. Sporns emphasizes how networks connect levels of organization in the brain and how they link structure to function, offering an informal and nonmathematical treatment of the subject. Networks of the Brain provides a synthesis of the sciences of complex networks and the brain that will be an essential foundation for future research.

Genres: Neuroscience, Science, Brain, Nonfiction, Psychology, Biology, Textbooks

412 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Olaf Sporns is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Adjunct Professor in the School of Informatics and Computing, Codirector of the Indiana University Network Science Institute, a member of the programs in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, and Head of the Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at Indiana University Bloomington.

Reviews

[Bria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't be fooled; this is how they get you. First they spend 6 chapters essentially saying, "Yes, the brain can be modeled quite usefully using graph theory," and you're nodding your head saying, "Yes, I gathered that from the title, and?" but before you know it, you're hooked and now you need to go learn more graph and network and information and complexity theory and get more about the brain into your brain because you need to know more about the BRAIN.

[Chris Giorshev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Networks of the brain is an interesting look at the brain. It relates brain structure and function from a network perspective -specifically integrating graph theory with neuroscience. The book starts by outlining the basics of graph theory. But, unless you are familiar with the topic I would suggest visiting some internet sites first, before reading the book. With graph theory in mind, the book outlines the structural and functional aspects of neuroscience beginning with simple brain networks, and network perspectives on neuroanatomy. Brain networks are then discussed from the perspective of brain modules, hubs and circuits. From here, a big-picture approach is taken in terms of cognition, brain network disease, growth and development and neural complexity.

The book is not an easy read. The author sometimes gets jumbled in jargon and often takes an excruciatingly detailed approach to an idea, when a simple summary would do. But, overall the ideas in the book are enlightening and it is well worth the read. I have not seen this topic approached in this way before and it has given me a different perspective on brain anatomy and function.

[monnoo · Rating 1 out of 5]

How on earth could one think it is possible to write a book about networks of the brain without mentioning "associativity" even once? Let only be virtuality.
The book may collect a lot of so-called "facts" (actually there aren't "innocent" facts at all, particularly not in brain science), but just identifying networks with mathematical graphs, disregarding probabilistic networks and associative networks completely, such writing just about logistic networks, well, this makes it a bad book, not worth the paper on which it is written.
Is the brain really kind of a telephone network? Or computer network? Or internet, just to cite the authors initial addiction? The obvious disregard of the "wild" associativity is far from being accidental. It is a systemic failure of materialist propaganda. Because associativity abolishes the possibility to assign "functions" to the brain, because associativity is uncontrollable and demands for arguments from metaphysics and transcendence. The brain is not just bio-matter that is transferring spike trains. Any of the 7 billion brains is culturally shaped, down to the 10 trillion synapses in each of them.

How could one discuss networks of the brain without making any reference to computer models, such as Self-organizing Maps? Sporns is mistaking the factual as the Given, disregarding the fact that any factual is only fact on the foil of some theory.
Regarding the brain the foremost duty is to apply some imagination. But that book is incredibly void of it.
Bad book, bad science.
Sporns, like so many other, is wrong to claim that we live in the age of networks. We live still in the dark ages of networks, where positivistic reductionism prevails.
(more about associativity here: theputnamprogram.wordpress.com/2012/0...)

[Michiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a difficult book to rate. Though it was was well written by an expert in the field, the overload of information can make it a less enjoyable popular science book.

I know quite a lot about evolution, complexity, dynamical systems and the like, but nearly nothing about brains. At moment it seems Sporns had a reader with opposite background in mind as he freely throws in terms of neuroanatomy, mostly explaining only the concepts of other fields. But apart from this, this it contains a wealth of interesting information, linking ideas discussed by well known scientists such as Dawkins, Wagner, Strogatz, Friston etc.

Definitely recommend it to those interested in brain science and, to some extend, to those with interest in complexity, AI and the likes

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I must say that since I am currently taking a course by the author this books serves as a complementary source to the information presented in class. Second, I think that this books has introduced me to the concept of networks like never before and allowed me to understand its relation to the brain.

While this book may seem intimidating (due to its size) I encourage anyone who is interested in acquiring an understanding of "connectomics" from a leading pioneer to pick it up.

My favorite quote below:

"In the human brain, at least a million billion synapses and thousands of miles of neural wiring are compressed within a volume of around 1,400 cm^3 forming a dense web of cellular connections that is yet to be completely mapped."
(Sporns, 2008)

[João Felício · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good to organize knowledge on network analysis in neuroscience, sadly it reminds me of how disconnected current neuroscience research is from actual clinical phenotypes and phenomenology, and how disconnected current phenomenology and clinical practice are from neuroscience research.

We have incredible answers to terrible questions in this field. Metaphorically, it seems mental health research is often stuck in the methodology and results part of the paper, and keeps forgetting about the introduction and discussion parts.

None of this rambling is the book's fault, the book is great, it's my fault for having existencial crisis while reading about network analysis.

[Ogi Ogas · Rating 5 out of 5]

My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.

[Taylor Ellwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book the author tries to connect network theory to neuroscience and in the process manages to obscure what it was he was focusing on. While the premise is intriguing the author doesn't provide concrete examples that illustrate the cross over of network theory with neuroscience. His heavy reliance on jargon also doesn't help. This may be a book that is appropriate in the neuroscience field, but if his goal is to write a book for a more general audience, it didn't work.

[s · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, and I think on the right track. But it's a bit dryly written, is frustratingly cortex-centric, and seems to too-rarely make predictions or suggest experiments which could help push the field forward. At the same time as I agreed with most everything written, I didn't finish with a clear sense of what I'd learned.

[Yates Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early fundamental text looking at connective networks in the brain and their core properties. The question of physical scale of connection is not addressed adequately and is not paying due to cell level connectomics.

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and engaging. I read it like a novel.