Abstract
An animal neural system ranges from a cluster of a few neurons to a brain of billions. At the lower range, it is possible to test each neuron for its role across a set of environmental conditions. However, the higher range requires another approach. One method is to disentangle the organization of the neuronal network. In the case of the entorhinal cortex in a rodent, a set of neuronal cells involved in spatial location activate in a regular grid-like arrangement. Therefore, it is of interest to develop methods to find these kinds of patterns in a neural network. For this study, a square grid arrangement of neurons is quantified by network metrics and then applied for identification of square grid structure in areas of the fruit fly brain. The results show several regions with contiguous clusters of square grid arrangements in the neural network, supportive of specialization in the information processing of the system.
Highlights
The animal neural network is often generalized as a model of a small-world arrangement of neurons and their connections [1]
The lattice detection algorithm is restricted to a search for a square grid-like pattern, similar to that observed in the grid cells which fire in a hexagonal arrangement in the medial entorhinal cortex of a rodent [4,5,6,7]
A square grid, equivalent to a rectangular grid, is the arrangement of interest, since it is differentiable from the common triangular grid pattern of a small-world neuronal network
Summary
The animal neural network is often generalized as a model of a small-world arrangement of neurons and their connections [1]. A lattice is commonly defined as a regularity of structure in a formal graph, such as a hexagonal, rectangular, or triangular grid arrangement, but the precise definition of lattice varies across studies [2,3]. A square grid, equivalent to a rectangular grid, is the arrangement of interest, since it is differentiable from the common triangular grid pattern of a small-world neuronal network. The minimal square grid arrangement is defined as a cycle graph of four nodes (C4; Figure 1a). This arrangement may be repeated across a network and may be referred to as a lattice-like structure of square grids (Figure 1b)
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