Function aligns with geometry in locally connected neuronal networks
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract The geometry of the brain imposes fundamental constraints on neuronal network organization and dynamics, yet how these constraints give rise to observed patterns of brain activity remains unclear. Here, we investigate how geometric eigenmodes relate to functional connectivity gradients in three-dimensional neural systems using a combination of generative network simulations and cellular-resolution calcium imaging in larval zebrafish. We show that functional connectivity gradients emerging from network activity naturally align with the geometric eigenmodes of the underlying spatial embedding when connectivity is predominantly local. By systematically increasing the prevalence of long-range connections, we reveal a robust geometry-function correspondence that progressively deteriorates as local connectivity is disrupted. We then show that spatial filtering can artificially imprint geometric patterns on functional gradients, highlighting an important methodological confound. To validate our computational results, we conduct volumetric calcium imaging experiments at cellular resolution in the optic tectum of zebrafish larvae, uncovering functional gradients that closely align with geometric eigenmodes. As predicted from simulations, the eigenmode-gradient mapping exhibits a cutoff point that quantitatively reflects the spatial extent of the region’s connectivity kernel, inferred from single-neuron morphologies. This geometry-functional alignment disappears at brain-wide scale, where long-range connections are more prevalent. Our findings demonstrate how short-range anatomical connectivity anchors functional connectivity gradients to the brain’s geometry.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".