Bridge and brick motifs in complex networks

Acknowledging the expanding role of complex networks in numerous scientific contexts, we examine significant functional and topological differences between bridge and brick motifs for predicting network behaviors and functions. After observing similarities between social networks and their genetic, ecological, and engineering counterparts, we identify a larger number of brick motifs in social networks and bridge motifs in the other three types. We conclude that bridge and brick motif content analysis can assist researchers in understanding the small-world and clustering properties of network structures when investigating network functions and behaviors. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.