Self-organization of network dynamics into local quantized states

Self-organization and pattern formation in network-organized systems emerges from the collective activation and interaction of many interconnected units. A striking feature of these non-equilibrium structures is that they are often localized and robust: only a small subset of the nodes, or cell asse...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nicolaides, Christos, Juanes, Ruben, Cueto-Felgueroso, Luis
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101869
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7370-2332
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1485-2736
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3958-7382
Description
Summary:Self-organization and pattern formation in network-organized systems emerges from the collective activation and interaction of many interconnected units. A striking feature of these non-equilibrium structures is that they are often localized and robust: only a small subset of the nodes, or cell assembly, is activated. Understanding the role of cell assemblies as basic functional units in neural networks and socio-technical systems emerges as a fundamental challenge in network theory. A key open question is how these elementary building blocks emerge, and how they operate, linking structure and function in complex networks. Here we show that a network analogue of the Swift-Hohenberg continuum model—a minimal-ingredients model of nodal activation and interaction within a complex network—is able to produce a complex suite of localized patterns. Hence, the spontaneous formation of robust operational cell assemblies in complex networks can be explained as the result of self-organization, even in the absence of synaptic reinforcements.