# Tau-BNO: Brain Neural Operator for Tau Transport Model

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.08108 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.08108/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 22 of its 76 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 9 Mar 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 22 of 22)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [Semi-Supervised Classification with Graph Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.02907/) (2016)
- [SGDR: Stochastic Gradient Descent with Warm Restarts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1608.03983/) (2016)
- [Mamba: Linear-Time Sequence Modeling with Selective State Spaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.00752/) (2023)
- [Neural Ordinary Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.07366/) (2018)
- [A Comprehensive Survey on Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.00596/) (2019)
- [Fourier Neural Operator for Parametric Partial Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.08895/) (2020)
- [DeepONet: Learning nonlinear operators for identifying differential equations based on the universal approximation theorem of operators](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.03193/) (2019)
- [Spectral Networks and Locally Connected Networks on Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1312.6203/) (2013)
- [Neural Operator: Graph Kernel Network for Partial Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.03485/) (2020)
- [Geometry-Informed Neural Operator for Large-Scale 3D PDEs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.00583/) (2023)
- [Multiwavelet-based Operator Learning for Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.13459/) (2021)
- [Neural Operators for Accelerating Scientific Simulations and Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.15325/) (2023)
- [MagNet: A Neural Network for Directed Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.11391/) (2021)
- [Directed Graph Convolutional Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.13970/) (2020)
- [Neural Operators with Localized Integral and Differential Kernels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.16845/) (2024)
- [A Graph Neural Network Framework for Causal Inference in Brain Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.07143/) (2020)
- [The multiphysics of prion-like diseases: progression and atrophy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.01958/) (2018)
- [Data-driven modelling of brain activity using neural networks, Diffusion Maps, and the Koopman operator](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.11925/) (2023)
- [A network-level transport model of tau progression in the Alzheimer's brain](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.02407/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [NeuronSifter: An Agent-in-Twin for Prioritizing Central Nervous System Interventions with World Action Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.35445/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Mechanistic modeling provides a biophysically grounded framework for studying the spread of pathological tau protein in tauopathies like Alzheimer's disease. Existing approaches typically model tau propagation as a diffusive process on the brain's structural connectome, reproducing macroscopic patterns but neglecting microscale cellular transport and reaction mechanisms. The Network Transport Model (NTM) was introduced to fill this gap, explaining how region-level progression of tau emerges from microscale biophysical processes. However, the NTM faces a common challenge for complex models defined by large systems of partial differential equations: the inability to perform parameter inference and mechanistic discovery due to high computational burden and slow model simulations. To overcome this barrier, we propose Tau-BNO, a Brain Neural Operator surrogate framework for rapidly approximating NTM dynamics that captures both intra-regional reaction kinetics and inter-regional network transport. Tau-BNO combines a function operator that encodes kinetic parameters with a query operator that preserves initial state information, while approximating anisotropic transport through a spectral kernel that retains directionality. Empirical evaluations demonstrate high predictive accuracy (R2≈ 0.98) across diverse biophysical regimes and an 89% performance improvement over state-of-the-art sequence models like Transformers and Mamba, which lack inherent structural priors. By reducing simulation time from hours to seconds, we show that the surrogate model is capable of producing new insights and generating new hypotheses. This framework is readily extensible to a broader class of connectome-based biophysical models, showcasing the transformative value of deep learning surrogates to accelerate analysis of large-scale, computationally intensive dynamical systems.