Abstract
The analysis of the activity of neuronal cultures is considered to be a good
proxy of the functional connectivity of in vivo neuronal tissues. Thus, the
functional complex network inferred from activity patterns is a promising way
to unravel the interplay between structure and functionality of neuronal
systems. Here, we monitor the spontaneous self-sustained dynamics in neuronal
clusters formed by interconnected aggregates of neurons. The analysis of the
time delays between ignition sequences of the clusters allows the
reconstruction of the directed functional connectivity of the network. We
propose a method to statistically infer this connectivity and analyze the
resulting properties of the associated complex networks. Surprisingly enough,
in contrast to what has been reported for many biological networks, the
clustered neuronal cultures present assortative mixing connectivity values,
meaning that there is a preference for clusters to link to other clusters that
share similar functional connectivity. These results point out that the
grouping of neurons and the assortative connectivity between clusters are
intrinsic survival mechanisms of the culture.
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