Structure, Function, and Control of the Musculoskeletal Network Andrew C. Murphy1;2, Sarah F. Muldoon1;3, David Baker1;4, Adam Lastowka5, Brittany Bennett5;6, Muzhi Yang1;7, & Danielle S. Bassett1;4;8∗ 1 Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA 2 Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA 3 Department of Mathematics, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY USA 4 Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA 5 Open Connections, Newtown Square, PA 19073 USA 6 Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA 19102 7 Applied Mathematical and Computational Science Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA ∗To whom correspondence should be addressed; E-mail:
[email protected]. arXiv:1612.06336v1 [q-bio.TO] 13 Dec 2016 1 The human body is a complex organism whose gross mechanical properties are enabled by an interconnected musculoskeletal network controlled by the nervous system. The nature of musculoskeletal interconnection facilitates sta- bility, voluntary movement, and robustness to injury. However, a fundamental understanding of this network and its control by neural systems has remained elusive. Here we utilize medical databases and mathematical modeling to re- veal the organizational structure, predicted function, and neural control of the musculoskeletal system. We construct a whole-body musculoskeletal network in which single muscles connect to multiple bones via both origin and insertion points. We demonstrate that a muscle’s role in this network predicts suscep- tibility of surrounding components to secondary injury. Finally, we illustrate that sets of muscles cluster into network communities that mimic the organi- zation of motor cortex control modules.