A Python Hands-on Tutorial on Network and Topological Neuroscience

Abstract

Network neuroscience investigates brain functioning through the prism of connectivity, and graph theory has been the main framework to understand brain networks. Recently, an alternative framework has gained attention: topological data analysis. It provides a set of metrics that go beyond pairwise connections and offer improved robustness against noise. Here, our goal is to provide an easy-to-grasp theoretical and computational tutorial to explore neuroimaging data using these frameworks, facilitating their accessibility, data visualisation, and comprehension for newcomers to the field. We provide a concise (and by no means complete) theoretical overview of the two frameworks and a computational guide on the computation of both well-established and newer metrics using a publicly available resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging dataset. Moreover, we have developed a pipeline for three-dimensional (3-D) visualisation of high order interactions in brain networks.