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A walk-sum framework of frequency-dependent brain communication architecture
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A walk-sum framework of frequency-dependent brain communication architecture

V. Kafetzopoulos, V. Metaxas
April 2026
 ·
bioRxiv
 ·
DOI 
10.64898/2026.04.04.716466
94
%
Reproducible
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This paper passed independent validation.
QED's automated review checked the evidence supporting each claim, the statistical methods, and whether the results are reproducible from the data provided.

It ranks in the top 1% of preprints assessed in Neuroscience this quarter.
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Why this is interesting

By deriving frequency-dependent neural communication channels directly from connectome topology with zero free parameters, this work overturns the assumption that brain frequency-space coupling requires simulation, establishing structural connectivity as a predictive, first-principles theory of neural communication.

QED claims analysis

Summary

The walk-sum algebra of the structural connectome analytically derives frequency-dependent brain communication architecture through a parameter-free resolvent transfer function that predicts parcellation-invariant alpha-band crossover (12.6 Hz), achieves near-perfect eigenmodel correlation (ρ = 0.965), and separates topological channel structure from local neural dynamics—validated across 912 MEG subjects, 90 intracranial EEG patients, and pharmacological perturbations showing selective alpha-channel collapse under propofol and topological transparency in schizophrenia.

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Main Claim 1 –

Connectome walk-sum resolvent derives topology-driven frequency communication

Supporting evidence

  • Zero-parameter bare resolvent predicts invariant Q-crossover and eigenmodes
  • MEG replication identifies alpha as topologically privileged convergence frequency
  • Intracranial EEG confirms resolvent predictions, excluding volume conduction
Main Claim 2 –

Two-parameter dressed resolvent adds local dynamics and improves prediction

Main Claim 3 –

Near-zero neural mass correlation shows resolvent encodes channels

Main Claim 4 –

Propofol selectively collapses alpha communication channels, sparing slow bands

Supporting evidence

  • Schizophrenia preserves structural channels despite dynamics, showing topological transparency

Abstract

Brain oscillations organise neural communication, yet why specific frequencies couple to specific spatial modes remains analytically unresolved. The walk-sum algebra of the structural connectome determines a frequency-dependent transfer function, the resolvent, whose spatial structure follows entirely from topology. With zero free parameters, the bare resolvent predicts a parcellation-invariant crossover near 12.6 Hz, an eigenmodel correlation of ρ = 0.965, and five testable spatial predictions. These are confirmed in source-reconstructed MEG from 912 subjects across three datasets and intracranial EEG from 90 epilepsy patients, ruling out volume conduction. A two-parameter dressed resolvent improves prediction; a neural mass negative control (ρ ≈ 0.006) confirms the resolvent describes channels, not dynamics. Propofol anaesthesia collapses alpha channels; in schizophrenia, weakened local dynamics expose the structural scaffold—topological transparency. This framework provides the first analytical derivation of frequency-band communication architecture from connectome topology.

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