A study led by former UF undergraduate student in the Nino Group, Parker Kotlarz, explores how the brain’s network structure and its ability to resist damage are crucial for understanding brain function and diseases. Parker applied principles of percolation theory, a mathematical approach, to simulate brain damage by removing key regions in the brain networks of humans, mice, and simulated models. His research revealed that removing regions with high betweenness centrality (a measure of network importance) caused the brain network to break apart quickly into three main parts. Just before this breakdown, the network showed a peak in betweenness centrality, indicating a critical point in brain functionality. This approach helps identify important brain hubs and provides insight into how the brain maintains its efficiency and resilience. Parker Kotlarz was a trainee in the laboratory of Dr. Juan Nino in Materials Science Engineering at UF and is currently a medical student at Harvard University. This work was supported by the an award from the UF AI Catalyst Initiative to Professors Nino and Febo.
More information can be read here: Kotlarz, P.; Febo, M.; Nino, J.C.; on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Brain Network Modularity and Resilience Signaled by Betweenness Centrality Percolation Spiking. Appl. Sci. 2024, 14, 4197. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14104197