Editorial: On the relation of dynamics and structure in brain networks

Despite more than a century-long effort, the functioning of the few-pound lump of white and grey matter that forms the brain remains at least partially a mystery. Physicists have made some significant contributions to the understanding of brain physiology, none perhaps more notable than Hodgkin and Huxley’s, who discovered the ionic basis of nerve cell conduction. But could they also help shedding light on how large numbers of neurons interact to give rise to sophisti- cated behaviour? Although complex, a neural system is in fact essentially a physical device meant to perform specific functions. As such, brain design must obey general engineering principles, which shape it at all scales from neuronal sub-components to the whole system scales. 1 Observable anatomy and physiology of the brain can be thought of as resulting from selective evolutionary pressures that managed trade-offs between energy consumption and adaptiveness, favouring energyefficient wiring and coding patterns 2,3 and ultimately resulting in a non-random spatial and temporal structure of brain anatomy and dynamics. Making sense of this structure is therefore key to our understanding of the emergence of brain function