Graph-based diagnosis and treatment of neuronal communication disorders

Abstract

The report issued by Alzheimer's Disease International in 2009 estimated that 35.6 million people worldwide would be suffering from the disease in 2010, and the number was estimated to 115.4 million in 2050. Development of safe and effective disease treatments is, therefore, an urgent matter. Understanding the physical mechanisms underlying the neuronal network could enable scientists to invent new treatment strategies and techniques. Development of different invasive and noninvasive techniques of stimulating the region of the brain, that is malfunctioning owing to a neurodegenerative disease from the outside of-or inside the body, became plausible considering the recent findings in biology and neuroscience. This paper does not delve with any specific treatment fashion in terms of technique being deployed, but discusses one possible strategy formation of controlling the neuronal communication, which might be applicable in general. Specific graph theory concepts are deployed and integrated from a theoretical neuroscience perspective, with the main motivation of altering the performance of neuronal communication in order to slow down, halt or reverse mental disorders, such as Alzheimer's, depression, schizophrenia, autism etc., that reduce quality of life.