ArticlePLoS computational biology2015
Decreasing-Rate Pruning Optimizes the Construction of Efficient and Robust Distributed Networks.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Investigating the role of food pollutants in autism spectrum disorder: a comprehensive analysis of heavy metals, pesticides, and mycotoxins.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies examining synaptic density in individuals with psychotic spectrum disorders.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- A minimal recurrent neural network models the robustness of interleaved practice on motor sequence learning.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Review
- From Electron Imbalance to Network Collapse: Decoding the Redox Code of Ischemic Stroke for Biomarker-Guided Precision Neuroprotection.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Article
- Neglect and Neurodevelopment: A Narrative Review Understanding the Link Between Child Neglect and Executive Function Deficits.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Fine-Pruning: A biologically inspired algorithm for personalization of machine learning models.Patterns (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- High-density multielectrode arrays bring cellular resolution to neuronal activity and network analyses of corticospinal motor neurons.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Intergenerational Effects of Stress - A Focus on Learning and Memory.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025Review
- Fenfluramine increases survival and reduces markers of neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome.Epilepsia open · 2024Article
- Cortical grey matter volume differences in children with developmental coordination disorder compared to typically developing children.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2024Article
- Genetically encoded phosphatidylserine biosensor for in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo labelling.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2023Article
- A perspective on molecular signalling dysfunction, its clinical relevance and therapeutics in autism spectrum disorder.Experimental brain research · 2022Review
- Dynamics of phase oscillator networks with synaptic weight and structural plasticity.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Small Nucleus Accumbens and Large Cerebral Ventricles in Infants and Toddlers Prior to Receiving Diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2022Article
- Selective connectivity enhances storage capacity in attractor models of memory function.Frontiers in systems neuroscience · 2022Article
- Novel Therapeutic Approach for Excitatory/Inhibitory Imbalance in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Diseases.Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology · 2021Review
- Association of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Organochlorine Pesticides with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Jamaican Children.Research in autism spectrum disorders · 2020Article
- Core Concept: How synaptic pruning shapes neural wiring during development and, possibly, in disease.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
Robust, efficient, and low-cost networks are advantageous in both biological and engineered systems. During neural network development in the brain, synapses are massively over-produced and then pruned-back over time. This strategy is not commonly used when designing engineered networks, since adding connections that will soon be removed is considered wasteful. Here, we show that for large distributed routing networks, network function is markedly enhanced by hyper-connectivity followed by aggressive pruning and that the global rate of pruning, a developmental parameter not previously studied by experimentalists, plays a critical role in optimizing network structure. We first used high-throughput image analysis techniques to quantify the rate of pruning in the mammalian neocortex across a broad developmental time window and found that the rate is decreasing over time. Based on these results, we analyzed a model of computational routing networks and show using both theoretical analysis and simulations that decreasing rates lead to more robust and efficient networks compared to other rates. We also present an application of this strategy to improve the distributed design of airline networks. Thus, inspiration from neural network formation suggests effective ways to design distributed networks across several domains.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.