Organization, Robustness, and Development of cortical networks

Biological networks such as metabolic as well as neural or cortical
networks and their large-scale properties have received increasing
attention in recent time. I will mainly present results on cortical
networks, consisting of cortical areas and fibre connections between
them, and also some results on metabolic and protein-protein interaction
networks. First, I will examine how the small-world, scale-free and
multi-cluster properties of cortical networks influence robustness
towards structural damage. Then, I will describe a biologically
motivated developmental algorithm to grow networks that are similar to
cortical as well as other \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'spatial\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' networks (transportation systems,
metabolic networks). As a by-product, the algorithm can yield
multi-cluster networks with optimal wiring. Finally, I will give an
outlook on the relationship between structure and function and the
functional dynamics in cortical networks.