ArticlePhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2020
'Hierarchy' in the organization of brain networks.
Article in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers.
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Who cites it
95 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Hierarchical and non-hierarchical network flows generate complementary representational dynamics in human visual cortex.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
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- Hyperbolic Kernel Graph Neural Networks for Neurocognitive Decline Analysis From Multimodal Brain Imaging.IEEE transactions on pattern analysis and machine intelligence · 2026Article
- Cortical Type: The Basis for a Modern Neurodevelopmental Synthesis (Ontogeny, Phylogeny, Synaptic Connectivity) of the Human Cerebral Cortex.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2026Review
- The biological role of local and global fMRI BOLD signal variability in multiscale human brain organization.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Using multimodal cortical parcellations to identify novel regions of the human cerebral cortex associated with cognitive performance.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Very-large-scale mimetic optogenetic synapses for physical reservoir computing.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Review
- Connectome-constrained ligand-receptor interaction analysis for understanding brain network communication.Nature communications · 2025Article
- The overlapping genetic architecture of psychiatric disorders and cortical brain structure.Nature. Mental health · 2025Article
- Psychiatric disorders converge on common pathways but diverge in cellular context, spatial distribution, and directionality of genetic effects.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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2 authors.
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Abstract
Concepts shape the interpretation of facts. One of the most popular concepts in systems neuroscience is that of 'hierarchy'. However, this concept has been interpreted in many different ways, which are not well aligned. This observation suggests that the concept is ill defined. Using the example of the organization of the primate visual cortical system, we explore several contexts in which 'hierarchy' is currently used in the description of brain networks. We distinguish at least four different uses, specifically, 'hierarchy' as a topological sequence of projections, as a gradient of features, as a progression of scales, or as a sorting of laminar projection patterns. We discuss the interpretation and functional implications of the different notions of 'hierarchy' in these contexts and suggest that more specific terms than 'hierarchy' should be used for a deeper understanding of the different dimensions of the organization of brain networks. This article is part of the theme issue 'Unifying the essential concepts of biological networks: biological insights and philosophical foundations'.
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