Analysis of the connection redundancy in functional networks from high-resolution EEG: a preliminary study.

In the present study, we propose a theoretical graph procedure to investigate the communication redundancy in brain networks. By taking into account all the possible paths between pairs of cortical regions, this method captures the network redundancy i.e. a critical resource of the brain enhancing the resilience to neural damages and dysfunctions. As an example for its potential, we apply this procedure to the cortical networks estimated from high-resolution EEG signals in a group of spinal cord injured patients during the attempt of the foot movement. Preliminary results suggest that in the high spectral contents the effects due to the spinal trauma affect the expected redundancy attitude by suppressing mainly the longer alternative pathways between the cortical regions.

Caste development and reproduction: a genome-wide analysis of hallmarks of insect eusociality.

The honey bee queen and worker castes are a model system for developmental plasticity. We used established expressed sequence tag information for a Gene Ontology based annotation of genes that are differentially expressed during caste development. Metabolic regulation emerged as a major theme, with a caste-specific difference in the expression of oxidoreductases vs. hydrolases. Motif searches in upstream regions revealed group-specific motifs, providing an entry point to cis-regulatory network studies on caste genes. For genes putatively involved in reproduction, meiosis-associated factors came out as highly conserved, whereas some determinants of embryonic axes either do not have clear orthologs (bag of marbles, gurken, torso), or appear to be lacking (trunk) in the bee genome. Our results are the outcome of a first genome-based initiative to provide an annotated framework for trends in gene regulation during female caste differentiation (representing developmental plasticity) and reproduction.