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Predicting Neuromodulation Outcome for Parkinson's Disease with Generative Virtual Brain Model

arXiv:2603.29176v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) affects over ten million people worldwide. Although temporal interference (TI) and deep brain stimulation (DBS) are promising therapies, inter-individual variability limits empirical treatment selection, increasing non-negligible surgical risk and cost. Previous explorations either resort to limited statistical biomarkers that are insufficient to characterize variability, or employ AI-driven methods which is prone to overfitting and opacity. We bridge this gap with a pretraining-finetuning framework to predict outcomes directly from resting-state fMRI. Critically, a generative virtual brain foundation model, pretrained on a collective dataset (2707 subjects, 5621 sessions) to capture universal disorder patterns, was finetuned on PD cohorts receiving TI (n=51) or DBS (n=55) to yield individualized virtual brains with high fidelity to empirical functional connectivity (r=0.935). By constructing counterfactual estimations between pathological and healthy neural states within these personalized models, we predicted clinical responses (TI: AUPR=0.853; DBS: AUPR=0.915), substantially outperforming baselines. External and prospective validations (n=14, n=11) highlight the feasibility of clinical translation. Moreover, our framework provides state-dependent regional patterns linked to response, offering hypothesis-generating mechanistic insights.

Structural and dynamical strategies to prevent runaway excitation in reservoir computing

arXiv:2603.29597v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Reservoirs, typically implemented as recurrent neural networks with fixed random connection weights, can be combined with a simple trained readout layer to perform a wide range of computational tasks. However, increasing the magnitude of reservoir connection weights to exploit nonlinear dynamics can cause the network to develop strong spontaneous activity that drives neurons into saturation, dramatically degrading performance. In this work, we investigate two distinct countermeasures against such runaway excitation. The first approach introduces a subtle non-homogeneous structure into the matrix of connection weigths $w_{ij}$, without altering the overall probability distribution $p(w)$. We identify several favorable structuring principles, such as creating a small subset of neurons with weaker-than-average input connections. Even if the rest of the reservoir falls into runaway saturating behavior, this weakly coupled subset remains in a mildly nonlinear regime whose dynamics can still be exploited by the readout layer. The second approach implements a form of automatic gain control, in which a dedicated control unit dynamically regulates the reservoir's average global activation toward an optimal setpoint. Although the control unit modulates the excitability of the reservoir only via a global gain factor, this mechanism substantially enlarges the dynamical regime favorable for computation and renders performance largely independent of the underlying connection statistics.

Convergent Representations of Linguistic Constructions in Human and Artificial Neural Systems

arXiv:2603.29617v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Understanding how the brain processes linguistic constructions is a central challenge in cognitive neuroscience and linguistics. Recent computational studies show that artificial neural language models spontaneously develop differentiated representations of Argument Structure Constructions (ASCs), generating predictions about when and how construction-level information emerges during processing. The present study tests these predictions in human neural activity using electroencephalography (EEG). Ten native English speakers listened to 200 synthetically generated sentences across four construction types (transitive, ditransitive, caused-motion, resultative) while neural responses were recorded. Analyses using time-frequency methods, feature extraction, and machine learning classification revealed construction-specific neural signatures emerging primarily at sentence-final positions, where argument structure becomes fully disambiguated, and most prominently in the alpha band. Pairwise classification showed reliable differentiation, especially between ditransitive and resultative constructions, while other pairs overlapped. Crucially, the temporal emergence and similarity structure of these effects mirror patterns in recurrent and transformer-based language models, where constructional representations arise during integrative processing stages. These findings support the view that linguistic constructions are neurally encoded as distinct form-meaning mappings, in line with Construction Grammar, and suggest convergence between biological and artificial systems on similar representational solutions. More broadly, this convergence is consistent with the idea that learning systems discover stable regions within an underlying representational landscape - recently termed a Platonic representational space - that constrains the emergence of efficient linguistic abstractions.

Copy-Spread-Annihilate Dynamics in Degree-Assortative Networks

arXiv:2603.29833v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: In many systems, communication proceeds by broadcasting rather than single source-target routing, but network structures that maximize signal lifetime are not well understood. Degree correlations are known to influence robustness and spreading, yet their effect on signal persistence has remained unclear. Here we introduce Copy-Spread-Annihilate dynamics, a minimal synchronous broadcasting model with annihilation. We show that signal lifetimes vary non-monotonically with assortativity and are maximized near neutral assortativity, where hub-driven amplification is strong but annihilation via short cycles is still limited. Applying this framework to the mouse connectome suggests assortativity as a structural control parameter for broadcast signal persistence in brain-like and other complex networks.

Counterfactual Analysis of Brain Network Dynamics

arXiv:2603.29843v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Causal inference in brain networks has traditionally relied on regression-based models such as Granger causality, structural equation modeling, and dynamic causal modeling. While effective for identifying directed associations, these methods remain descriptive and acyclic, leaving open the fundamental question of intervention: what would the causal organization become if a pathway were disrupted or externally modulated? We introduce a unified framework for counterfactual causal analysis that models both pathological disruptions and therapeutic interventions as an energy-perturbation problem on network flows. Grounded in Hodge theory, directed communication is decomposed into dissipative and persistent (harmonic) components, enabling systematic analysis of how causal organization reconfigures under hypothetical perturbations. This formulation provides a principled foundation for quantifying network resilience, compensation, and control in complex brain systems.

Multimodal Higher-Order Brain Networks: A Topological Signal Processing Perspective

arXiv:2603.29903v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Brain connectomics is still largely dominated by pairwise-based models, such as graphs, which cannot represent circulatory or higher-order functional interactions. In this paper, we propose a multimodal framework based on Topological Signal Processing (TSP) that models the brain as a higher-order topological domain and treats functional interactions as discrete vector fields. We integrate diffusion MRI and resting-state fMRI to learn subject-specific brain cell complexes, where statistically validated structural connectivity defines a sparse scaffold and phase-coupling functional edge signals drive the inference of higher-order interactions (HOIs). Using Hodge-theoretic tools, spectral filtering, and sparse signal representations, our framework disentangles brain connectivity into divergence (source-sink organization), gradient (potential-driven coordination), and curl (circulatory HOIs), enabling the characterization of temporal dynamics through the lens of discrete vector calculus. Across 100 healthy young adults from Human Connectome Project, node-based HOIs are highly individualized, yet robust mesoscale structure emerges under functional-system aggregation. We identify a distributed default mode network-centered gradient backbone and limbic-centered rotational flows; divergence polarization and curl profiles defining circulation regimes with insightful occupancy and dwell-time statistics. These topological signatures yield significant brain-behavior associations, revealing a relevant higher-order organization intrinsic to edge-based models. By making divergence, circulation, and recurrent mesoscale coordination directly measurable, this work enables a principled and interpretable topological phenotyping of brain function.

From Patterns to Policy: A Scoping Review Based on Bibliometric Analysis (ScoRBA) of Intelligent and Secure Smart Hospital Ecosystems

arXiv:2603.30004v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: This study examines the evolution of Intelligent and Secure Smart Hospital Ecosystems using a Scoping Review with Bibliometric Analysis (ScoRBA) to map research patterns, identify gaps, and derive policy implications. Analyzing 891 journal articles from Scopus (2006-2025) through co-occurrence analysis, network visualization, overlay analysis, and the Enhanced Strategic Diagram (ESD), the study applies the PAGER framework to link Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Research directions, and Evidence-based policy implications. Findings reveal three interrelated clusters: AI-driven intelligent healthcare systems, decentralized privacy-preserving digital health ecosystems, and scalable cloud-edge infrastructures, showing a convergence toward integrated ecosystem architectures where intelligence, trust, and infrastructure reinforce each other. Despite progress in AI, blockchain, and cloud computing, gaps remain in interoperability, real-world implementation, governance, and cross-layer integration. Emerging themes such as explainable AI, federated learning, and privacy mechanisms highlight areas needing further research. Policy-relevant recommendations focus on coordinated governance, scalable infrastructure, and secure data ecosystems, particularly for developing country contexts. The study bridges bibliometric evidence with actionable policies, supporting informed decision-making in smart hospital development.

Improving Liver Disease Diagnosis with SNNDeep: A Custom Spiking Neural Network Using Diverse Learning Algorithms

arXiv:2508.20125v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Purpose: Spiking neural networks (SNNs) have recently gained attention as energy-efficient, biologically plausible alternatives to conventional deep learning models. Their application in high-stakes biomedical imaging remains almost entirely unexplored. Methods: This study introduces SNNDeep, the first tailored SNN specifically optimized for binary classification of liver health status from computed tomography (CT) features. To ensure clinical relevance and broad generalizability, the model was developed and evaluated using the Task03\Liver dataset from the Medical Segmentation Decathlon (MSD), a standardized benchmark widely used for assessing performance across diverse medical imaging tasks. We benchmark three fundamentally different learning algorithms, namely Surrogate Gradient Learning, the Tempotron rule, and Bio-Inspired Active Learning across three architectural variants: a fully customized low-level model built from scratch, and two implementations using leading SNN frameworks, i.e., snnTorch and SpikingJelly. Hyperparameter optimization was performed using Optuna. Results: Our results demonstrate that the custom-built SNNDeep consistently outperforms framework-based implementations, achieving a maximum validation accuracy of 98.35%, superior adaptability across learning rules, and significantly reduced training overhead. Conclusion:This study provides the first empirical evidence that low-level, highly tunable SNNs can surpass standard frameworks in medical imaging, especially in data-limited, temporally constrained diagnostic settings, thereby opening a new pathway for neuro-inspired AI in precision medicine.

Modeling Spatiotemporal Neural Frames for High Resolution Brain Dynamic

arXiv:2603.24176v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Capturing dynamic spatiotemporal neural activity is essential for understanding large-scale brain mechanisms. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides high-resolution cortical representations that form a strong basis for characterizing fine-grained brain activity patterns. The high acquisition cost of fMRI limits large-scale applications, therefore making high-quality fMRI reconstruction a crucial task. Electroencephalography (EEG) offers millisecond-level temporal cues that complement fMRI. Leveraging this complementarity, we present an EEG-conditioned framework for reconstructing dynamic fMRI as continuous neural sequences with high spatial fidelity and strong temporal coherence at the cortical-vertex level. To address sampling irregularities common in real fMRI acquisitions, we incorporate a null-space intermediate-frame reconstruction, enabling measurement-consistent completion of arbitrary intermediate frames and improving sequence continuity and practical applicability. Experiments on the CineBrain dataset demonstrate superior voxel-wise reconstruction quality and robust temporal consistency across whole-brain and functionally specific regions. The reconstructed fMRI also preserves essential functional information, supporting downstream visual decoding tasks. This work provides a new pathway for estimating high-resolution fMRI dynamics from EEG and advances multimodal neuroimaging toward more dynamic brain activity modeling.
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