Abstract

Structure-function relationships are a fundamental principle of many naturally occurring systems, including brain networks. Collective communication among connected neuronal populations is thought to support patterned neural activity, as well as flexible cognitive operations and complex behavior. Cognitive dysfunction, due to aging or disease, may arise from perturbations in structure-function coupling. Traditional accounts assume uniform structure-function coupling throughout the brain, and often leave out important biological detail. Here I will focus on three new directions to study structure-function coupling: (1) multiplexed models that allow regionally heterogeneous structure-function relationships, (2) brain networks annotated with micro-architectural features, and (3) redefining function as a computational property. Altogether, I hope to show that structural network reconstructions enriched with local molecular and cellular metadata, in concert with more nuanced representations of functions and properties, hold great potential for a truly multiscale understanding of the structure–function relationship.