Topological data analysis suggests human brain networks reconfiguration in the transition from a resting state to cognitive load

The functional network of the brain continually adapts to changing environmental demands. The environmental changes closely connect with changes of active cognitive processes. In recent years, the network approach has emerged as a promising method for analyzing the neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie psychological functions. The present study examines topological characteristics of functional brain networks in resting state and in cognitive load, provided by the execution of the Sternberg Item Recognition Paradigm (SIRP) based on electroencephalographic data. We propose that the topological properties of the functional networks in the human brain are distinct between cognitive load and resting state with higher integration in the networks during cognitive load. It was shown that topological features of functional connectomes strongly depend on the type of cognitive process performed by the subject and change in accordance with task change. The analysis also demonstrated that functional connectivity during working memory tasks showed a faster emergence of homology groups generators, supporting the idea of a relationship between the initial stages of working memory execution and an increase in faster network integration, with connector hubs playing a crucial role

Различия топологических характеристик функциональных сетей мозга у людей с высоким и низким уровнем рабочей памяти

Original manuscript received March 15, 2023. Revised manuscript accepted May 01, 2023.Nowadays the network approach in neuroscience provides a promising way of analyzing neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie psychological functions and is widely used to study working memory. To date, data obtained in neuroimaging studies links working memory with topological features of brain networks, such as increased connectivity between frontal, parietal, and temporal regions, as well as increased integration in brain networks as a whole. The present study examines the relationship between the topological characteristics of functional brain networks with the performance in the Sternberg item recognition paradigm based on electroencephalographic data. It is shown that the higher performance in Sternberg paradigm, implying a higher efficiecy of the processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval of information from working memory, is associated with an increase in the integration of functional networks, expressed in differences in the clustering coefficient, participation coefficient, Wiener index and eigenvector centrality between the groups of high and low working memory task performance (p < .01). In addition, our data suggest the variability in the topological pattern of connectivity, which can be traced through changes in the magnitude of the standard deviation of the values of topological metrics during the task.В настоящее время сетевой подход в нейронауках предоставляет многообещающий способ анализа нейрофизиологических механизмов, лежащих в основе психологических функций, и широко используется для изучения рабочей памяти. На сегодняшний день данные, полученные в ходе исследований с применением методов нейровизуализации, связывают рабочую память с топологическими особенностями мозговых сетей, такими как повышенная связность между лобной, теменной и височной областями, а также повышенная интеграция сетей мозга в целом. В данной статье рассматривается взаимосвязь между топологическими характеристиками функциональных сетей, полученными путем электроэнцефалографических исследований, и успешностью решения задач Стернберга на рабочую память. Было показано, что более высокая успешность в парадигме Стернберга, подразумевающая более высокую эффективность процессов кодирования, хранения и извлечения информации из рабочей памяти, связана с увеличением интеграции функциональных сетей, выражающейся в различиях в коэффициенте кластеризации, коэффициенте партиципации, индексе Винера и степени влиятельности между группами с высокой и низкой успешностью решения задач на рабочую память (р < .01). Кроме того, наши данные свидетельствуют об изменчивости топологической структуры связности, которую можно проследить по изменению величины стандартного отклонения значений топологических показателей во время выполнения задачи

Interrogating informality: Conceptualisations, practices and policies in the light of the New Urban Agenda

Informality is growing in a context of increasing inequity, and in many places becoming the norm. However, despite decades of studies and interventions, ‘recognising informality’ is still a key issue. This paper provides a review of the literature on informality showing the shifts in its conceptualisations. The paper firstly discusses conceptual approaches related to the term ‘informality’ in the context of urban development; it then examines practices within, and related to, informality; and it concludes with an appraisal of policy approaches and their impact as reported in the literature. The paper finds a wide range of conceptualisations, including the questioning of the usefulness and appropriateness of the term. It finds reported evidence of ‘informality’ (as understood to date) spreading to the middle classes, and increasingly emerging in the Global North. Policies seem to be lagging behind in how they engage with so-called informality, with little acknowledgement of theory and limited understanding of their impacts on ‘informal’ practices. Finally, the paper identifies the need for better understanding of governance frameworks that include the range of actors that would normally be associated with so-called ‘informality’

“The best flood I ever had”: Contingent resilience and the (relative) success of adaptive technologies

The practical operationalisation of resilience within cities is strongly linked to technology, such as better construction materials or redesigning urban form. Institutional and private sector actors often focus on issues relating to the technological innovation journey, such as‘pathways’to implementation or‘barriers’to market uptake, rather than whether adaptive technologies are the most appropriate resilience solution. These discourses frame urban resilience from the perspective of an innovation journey where technologies are perceived to succeed if there is high uptake. However, given the multi-perspective and multi-scale nature of urban resilience,the idea of‘success’inevitably has complex spatial, temporal and scalar dimensions. The paper uses the case of property level flood resilience (PFR) technologies in the United Kingdom to introduce the notion of ‘contingent resilience ’as a means to understand the trade-offs that are part of assessing and evaluating climate resilient technologies. We reveal that there are fundamental contradictions in what is deemed as a‘success’depending on who is framing the problem,when the judgement is made, or where the scale of analysis lies. Above all, the paper highlights the importance of illuminating the struggles that do not just define success, but that spatially and temporally redistribute climate resilience in a hidden manner

The role of socio-economic factors in planning and managing urban ecosystem services

How green spaces in cities benefit urban residents depends critically on the interaction between biophysical and socio-economic factors. Urban ecosystem services are affected by both ecosystem characteristics and the social and economic attributes of city dwellers. Yet, there remains little synthesis of the interactions between ecosystem services, urban green spaces, and socio-economic factors. Articulating these linkages is key to their incorporation into ecosystem service planning and management in cities and to ensuring equitable outcomes for city inhabitants. We present a conceptual model of these linkages, describe three major interaction pathways, and explore how to operationalize the model. First, socio-economic factors shape the quantity and quality of green spaces and their ability to supply services by influencing management and planning decisions. Second, variation in socio-economic factors across a city alters people’s desires and needs and thus demands for different ecosystem services. Third, socio-economic factors alter the type and amount of benefit for human wellbeing that a service provides. Integrating these concepts into green space policy, planning, and management would be a considerable improvement on ‘standards-based’ urban green space planning. We highlight the implications of this for facilitating tailored planning solutions to improve ecosystem service benefits across the socio-economic spectrum in cities