Graphlets as structural fingerprints of complex networks
Abstract
Complex networks are often compared using selected graph-theoretical measures that capture a selected set of properties with effects ranging from local to global, such as degree, clustering or betweenness centrality. Here we introduce a structural fingerprinting framework based on graphlets: small rooted subgraphs whose distributions provide a systematic description of local-to-mesoscale topology. Across synthetic networks generated from several random graph models, graphlet fingerprints capture parameter-dependent structural differences, outperform standard graph-theoretical measures, and identify even subtle local patterns driving discrimination. We then apply the framework to empirical resting-state functional connectomes, documenting that while graphlets show superior sensitivity also to controlled topological perturbations of brain connectivity, specifically in schizophrenia-control classification they perform only comparably to classical graph-theoretical features. This is in line with the notion that schizophrenia-related alterations are dominated by spatially localized connectivity changes rather than general topological reorganization. Altogether, the generative modeling, targeted perturbations and real-world neuroimaging classification challenge position graphlets as flexible structural fingerprints of complex networks, while carefully outlining their strength and weaknesses compared to more classical graph theoretical features.
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BibTeX
@misc{pidnebesna2026graphlets,
title = {{Graphlets as structural fingerprints of complex networks}},
author = {Anna Pidnebesna and David Hartman and Aneta Pokorna and Daniel Trlifaj and Jaroslav Hlinka},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.17445},
eprint = {2609.17445},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17445},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Graphlets as structural fingerprints of complex networks
AU - Anna Pidnebesna
AU - David Hartman
AU - Aneta Pokorna
AU - Daniel Trlifaj
AU - Jaroslav Hlinka
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.17445
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17445
AB - Complex networks are often compared using selected graph-theoretical measures that capture a selected set of properties with effects ranging from local to global, such as degree, clustering or betweenness centrality. Here we introduce a structural fingerprinting framework based on graphlets: small rooted subgraphs whose distributions provide a systematic description of local-to-mesoscale topology. Across synthetic networks generated from several random graph models, graphlet fingerprints capture parameter-dependent structural differences, outperform standard graph-theoretical measures, and identify even subtle local patterns driving discrimination. We then apply the framework to empirical resting-state functional connectomes, documenting that while graphlets show superior sensitivity also to controlled topological perturbations of brain connectivity, specifically in schizophrenia-control classification they perform only comparably to classical graph-theoretical features. This is in line with the notion that schizophrenia-related alterations are dominated by spatially localized connectivity changes rather than general topological reorganization. Altogether, the generative modeling, targeted perturbations and real-world neuroimaging classification challenge position graphlets as flexible structural fingerprints of complex networks, while carefully outlining their strength and weaknesses compared to more classical graph theoretical features.
ER -