A very interesting research on Robustness and assortativity for diffusion-like processes in scale-free networks (PDF) confirmed previous findings (Newman 2002) that the networks where the nodes tend to connect to the nodes with the higher degree (so-called assortative networks) are much more susceptible to epidemic contagion than disassortative networks (where nodes mix in a more heterogeneous fashion).
An emerging new field of nonlinear dynamical psychiatry can provide computational methods as well as phenomenological insights for a better understanding of cognition. The core of this theory is the proposition that mental and emotional states are characterized by nonlinear dynamics and metastability. Metastability refers to the ability of the brain’s neuronal network to maintain several distinct states simultaneously, which can integrate globally to produce sensorimotor activity.
During our work on the Radical School Change project we’ve found a lot of different internet resources that help share knowledge on the internet. Some of them are the platforms where people can put up and take other people’s courses, some have free lectures, and some help people collaborate on their research.
A very interesting paper by Kitano “Biological Robustness” (published in 2004 in Nature Genetics journal) offers a very insightful summary on what biological robustness is and how it emerges in networks. Kitano demonstrates how small-world architecture and the existence of an interconnected core control center both increase the robustness of a system.
A newly published research in the Vol 16, Issue 4 of Trends in Cognitive Sciences Journal titled “An oscillatory mechanism for prioritizing salient unattended stimuli” proposes an interesting mechanism of prioritizing important impulses employed in the human brain. It does not only offer a fresh point of view on how important synchronized brain-wave activity is for performing complex cognitive tasks, but also can show us the possible organizational structures that could be used to better detect a change in environment and provide fast responses to it.
