From link-prediction in brain connectomes and protein interactomes to the local-community-paradigm in complex networks

By Carlo Vittorio Cannistraci, Gregorio Alanis-Lobato, Timothy Ravasi. Scientific Reports, 2013

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Growth and remodelling impact the network topology of complex systems, yet a general theory explaining how new links arise between existing nodes has been lacking and little is known about the topological properties that facilitate link-prediction. Here we investigate the extent to which the connectivity evolution of a network might be predicted by mere topological features. We show how a link/community-based strategy triggers substantial prediction improvements because it accounts for the singular topology of several real networks organised in multiple local communities - a tendency here named local-community-paradigm (LCP). We observe that LCP networks are mainly formed by weak interactions and characterise heterogeneous and dynamic systems that use self-organisation as a major adaptation strategy. These systems seem designed for global delivery of information and processing via multiple local modules. Conversely, non-LCP networks have steady architectures formed by strong interactions and seem designed for systems in which information/energy storage is crucial.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience, Statistical and Nonlinear Physics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/58ed3397c9521846682f49c4d998f0b95fff8401