Filtering information in imaging connectomics
Mapping the connectome through non-invasive imaging tools allows to study the wiring diagram of the brain in-vivo. The informative value of the resulting brain network depends on how much of the estimated connectivity is retained. We present a method, the efficiency cost optimization (ECO), to filter connectivity based on the optimization of the trade-off between the efficiency of a network and its wiring cost. As a result, we find an optimal connection density threshold that emphasizes the intrinsic properties of a given network, while preserving its sparsity. Such threshold can be determined a-priori, since the number of connections to retain only depends on the network size. We validate this result on connectomes, from micro- to macro-scales, obtained with different imaging modalities. Finally, we test the potential of ECO in discriminating brain states with respect to alternative filtering approaches. This method advances our ability to analyze and compare imaging connectomes in a fast and principled way.