'Hierarchy' in the organization of brain networks

Hilgetag, C. and Goulas, A. (2020) "'Hierarchy' in the organization of brain networks." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 375: 20190319. 

One can see from this variety of definitions that the Model of Hierarchical Complexity favors the "progression of scales" option and then extends it as a universal measure for all networks. Of course it 'works' given its premises and subsequent inferences. But as one can see, it is but one of the 'metaphors' for describing hierarchy in brain networks. And everything else for that matter.

Abstract:

"Concepts shape the interpretation of facts. One of the most popular concepts in systems neuroscience is that of ‘hierarchy’. However, this concept has been interpreted in many different ways, which are not well aligned. This observation suggests that the concept is ill defined. Using the example of the organization of the primate visual cortical system, we explore several contexts in which ‘hierarchy’ is currently used in the description of brain networks. We distinguish at least four different uses, specifically, ‘hierarchy’ as a topological sequence of projections, as a gradient of features, as a progression of scales, or as a sorting of laminar projection patterns. We discuss the interpretation and functional implications of the different notions of ‘hierarchy’ in these contexts and suggest that more specific terms than ‘hierarchy’ should be used for a deeper understanding of the different dimensions of the organization of brain networks."