# Neural circuit function redundancy in brain disorders

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.03039 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.03039/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 5 Feb 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Decorrelating neurons using persistence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04870/) (2023)
- [Representation in large language models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.00885/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Redundancy is a ubiquitous property of the nervous system. This means that vastly different configurations of cellular and synaptic components can enable the same neural circuit functions. However, until recently very little brain disorder research considered the implications of this characteristic when designing experiments or interpreting data. Here, we first summarise the evidence for redundancy in healthy brains, explaining redundancy and three of its sub-concepts: sloppiness, dependencies, and multiple solutions. We then lay out key implications for brain disorder research, covering recent examples of redundancy effects in experimental studies on psychiatric disorders. Finally, we give predictions for future experiments based on these concepts.