ArticleCommunications biology2023
Multivariate information theory uncovers synergistic subsystems of the human cerebral cortex.
Article in Communications biology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 49 papers.
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Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed.
- High-order brain interactions in ketamine during rest and task: a double-blinded cross-over design using portable EEG on male participants.Translational psychiatry · 2024Trial
- Sampling bias corrections for discrete and Gaussian partial information decompositions.Patterns (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Charting higher-order models of brain function beyond pairwise interactions.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Accurately modeling resting-brain functional connectivity using hypergraph neural field-Fourier deep neural network.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Interpreting higher-order dependence in multimorbidity using cohort data: A partial information decomposition approach.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Structural signatures of synergy and redundancy in human brain function.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Machine-enhanced reconstruction of functional connectomes unravels discriminative brain sub-systems in health and disease.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Convergent transcriptomic and connectomic controllers of information integration and its anaesthetic breakdown across mammalian brains.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Evolving reservoir computers reveal bidirectional coupling between predictive power and emergent dynamics.Patterns (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Towards an informational account of interpersonal coordination.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Dynamic brain synergy uncovers functional neural coordination in Parkinson's disease under dopaminergic modulation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- THOI: An efficient and accessible library for computing higher-order interactions enhanced by batch-processing.PloS one · 2026Article
- Emergent multiscale organisation of neural dynamics fragments in anaesthesia.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2026Article
- Higher-order statistics for constructing centered edge functional connectivity.Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2026Article
- Large-scale brain mediation network based on resting-state functional MRI.Communications biology · 2025Article
- The topology of synergy: Linking topological and information-theoretic approaches to higher-order interactions in complex systems.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Null models for comparing information decomposition across complex systems.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Introduction to correlation networks: Interdisciplinary approaches beyond thresholding.Physics reports · 2025Article
- Altered dynamic functional connectivity and reduced higher order information interaction in Parkinson's patients with hyposmia.NPJ systems biology and applications · 2025Article
- Higher-order and distributed synergistic functional interactions encode information gain in goal-directed learning.Nature communications · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
One of the most well-established tools for modeling the brain is the functional connectivity network, which is constructed from pairs of interacting brain regions. While powerful, the network model is limited by the restriction that only pairwise dependencies are considered and potentially higher-order structures are missed. Here, we explore how multivariate information theory reveals higher-order dependencies in the human brain. We begin with a mathematical analysis of the O-information, showing analytically and numerically how it is related to previously established information theoretic measures of complexity. We then apply the O-information to brain data, showing that synergistic subsystems are widespread in the human brain. Highly synergistic subsystems typically sit between canonical functional networks, and may serve an integrative role. We then use simulated annealing to find maximally synergistic subsystems, finding that such systems typically comprise ≈10 brain regions, recruited from multiple canonical brain systems. Though ubiquitous, highly synergistic subsystems are invisible when considering pairwise functional connectivity, suggesting that higher-order dependencies form a kind of shadow structure that has been unrecognized by established network-based analyses. We assert that higher-order interactions in the brain represent an under-explored space that, accessible with tools of multivariate information theory, may offer novel scientific insights.
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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.