Table 1 The network measures used in this study
From: Abnormal wiring of the connectome in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder
Measure | Description |
|---|---|
Degree and strength | Degree is the number of links of a node and, thus, also the number of neighbors of the node. Strength is a similar measure for weighted networks: the sum of the weights of the links of a node [12, 13]. |
Clustering coefficient | Clustering coefficient measures how many of the node’s neighbors are also connected to each other. It is calculated by summing the number of links between the nearest neighbors of the node divided by the maximum possible amount of links between the nearest neighbors [40]. In the weighted networks, the weights of the links are also taken into account [41, 42]. |
Characteristic path length | Shortest path length is the minimum number of links that are passed through to get from one node to another node. Characteristic path length is the average of the shortest path lengths between each pair of nodes in the network [40]. In the weighted networks, the weights of the links are also taken into account [13]. |
Efficiency | Global efficiency is the average of the inverse shortest path lengths and is primarily influenced by short paths, whereas the characteristic path length is primarily influenced by long paths. Local efficiency is the efficiency of a subgraph formed by the neighborhood of the node [13, 41, 43, 45]. |
Betweenness centrality | Betweenness centrality measures the centrality of the node in the network by calculating how many of the network’s shortest paths go through that particular node [46–48]. |
Hubs | Hubs are the nodes with a big strength or a high betweenness centrality (here defined to be higher than mean + two standard deviations). |