Network Topology Motif

Synonyms

Network interacting pattern; Network motif

Definition

In complex network, network motifs are those patterns of interconnections occurring in original networks at numbers that are significantly higher than those in randomized networks (Alon 2007 and Milo et al. 2002). The interacting patterns are helpful to understand how the nodes in the network interact and how the network is constructed by the subgraphs of the interacting nodes. The subgraphs of network motifs are, thereby, considered as the simple building blocks of complex network. They are widely identified in transcription networks, neuron synaptic connection networks, ecological food webs, electronic circuits, and the World Wide Web.