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Auteurs principaux: Wang, Rong, Chang, Zhao, Liu, Xuechun, Kristanto, Daniel, Gartner, Étienne Gérard Guy, Liu, Xinyang, Liu, Mianxin, Wu, Ying, Lui, Ming, Zhou, Changsong
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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Accès en ligne:https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24125
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author Wang, Rong
Chang, Zhao
Liu, Xuechun
Kristanto, Daniel
Gartner, Étienne Gérard Guy
Liu, Xinyang
Liu, Mianxin
Wu, Ying
Lui, Ming
Zhou, Changsong
author_facet Wang, Rong
Chang, Zhao
Liu, Xuechun
Kristanto, Daniel
Gartner, Étienne Gérard Guy
Liu, Xinyang
Liu, Mianxin
Wu, Ying
Lui, Ming
Zhou, Changsong
contents Human cognition is supported by brain structural connectivity wherein weak connectivity with weights several orders of magnitude smaller than those of strong connectivity, has been treated as noise and ignored from analysis over a long time. We here propose that weak connectivity plays roles to cognitive abilities by nonlinearly amplifying its small weights. Using the HCP dataset (n=999) and multiple tractography algorithms, we found that weak connectivity involves high individual variability and contributes to predictions of general cognitive ability and memory, and it is also critical for brain functional connectivity simulation and structure-function coupling. Importantly, we fused two post-tractography filtering methods to generate more reliable connectivity that preserves weak links and outperforms conventional thresholding. At the network level, we showed that weak connectivity expands the operational capacity of brain networks to enhance both global integration and fine-grained segregation, thereby supporting a functional balance essential for diverse cognitive abilities. Finally, we identified a specific type of weak connectivity mainly linking visual/motor to limbic areas with negative gene co-expression, which has a disproportionately large functional impact. Our findings demonstrate groundbreaking evidence of underestimated but crucial role of weak connectivity in human cognition, providing a refined approach to reliably reveal brain structural connectivity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_24125
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Weak structural connectivity nonlinearly underlying human cognitive abilities
Wang, Rong
Chang, Zhao
Liu, Xuechun
Kristanto, Daniel
Gartner, Étienne Gérard Guy
Liu, Xinyang
Liu, Mianxin
Wu, Ying
Lui, Ming
Zhou, Changsong
Neurons and Cognition
Human cognition is supported by brain structural connectivity wherein weak connectivity with weights several orders of magnitude smaller than those of strong connectivity, has been treated as noise and ignored from analysis over a long time. We here propose that weak connectivity plays roles to cognitive abilities by nonlinearly amplifying its small weights. Using the HCP dataset (n=999) and multiple tractography algorithms, we found that weak connectivity involves high individual variability and contributes to predictions of general cognitive ability and memory, and it is also critical for brain functional connectivity simulation and structure-function coupling. Importantly, we fused two post-tractography filtering methods to generate more reliable connectivity that preserves weak links and outperforms conventional thresholding. At the network level, we showed that weak connectivity expands the operational capacity of brain networks to enhance both global integration and fine-grained segregation, thereby supporting a functional balance essential for diverse cognitive abilities. Finally, we identified a specific type of weak connectivity mainly linking visual/motor to limbic areas with negative gene co-expression, which has a disproportionately large functional impact. Our findings demonstrate groundbreaking evidence of underestimated but crucial role of weak connectivity in human cognition, providing a refined approach to reliably reveal brain structural connectivity.
title Weak structural connectivity nonlinearly underlying human cognitive abilities
topic Neurons and Cognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24125