Important issues for brain connectivity modelling by discrete dynamic bayesian networks.

Download
2020
Geduk, Salih
To understand the underlying neural mechanisms in the brain, effective connectivity among brain regions is important. Discrete Dynamic Bayesian Networks (dDBN) have been proposed to model the brain’s effective connectivity, due to its nonlinear and probabilistic nature. In modeling brain connectivity using discrete dynamic Bayesian network (dDBN), we need to make sure that the model accurately reflects the internal brain structure in spite of limited neuroimaging data. Based on the fact that there are many dDBN structure learning applications in the recent literature and most of them use very limited amount of data, some facts should be made clear at least for the model convergence which depends on the number of data, the model complexity, and the learning approach. In this thesis, we analyzed the sample complexity of dDBN to find the required number of samples that guarantee successful learning. Firstly, we realized that the theoretical sample complexity for dDBN structure learning is not realistic, practical and applicable in practice. Therefore, we also focused on a practical and systematic approach for estimating the sample complexity for dDBN. Secondly, we evaluated the non-supervised discretization methods for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data which has not been done yet to the best of our knowledge. We generated synthetic fMRI data that possess temporal relations. Then they were used for modeling effective connectivity by dDBN to compare the performance of each discretization method. Thirdly we analyzed the smoothing step of the fMRI data which is necessary to improve the signal to noise ratio. Experiments suggested that smoothing fMRI data with Gaussian function having a standard deviation to be 4 mm is suitable considering effective connectivity via dDBN. Lastly, by considering these results we used dDBN to model the brain connectivity of schizophrenia and control group. The results signify that schizophrenia is a disconnection syndrome.

Suggestions

Analyzing Complex Problem Solving by Dynamic Brain Networks
Alchihabi, Abdullah; Ekmekci, Ömer; Kivilcim, Baran B.; Newman, Sharlene D.; Yarman Vural, Fatos T. (2021-12-01)
Complex problem solving is a high level cognitive task of the human brain, which has been studied over the last decade. Tower of London (TOL) is a game that has been widely used to study complex problem solving. In this paper, we aim to explore the underlying cognitive network structure among anatomical regions of complex problem solving and its subtasks, namely planning and execution. A new computational model for estimating a brain network at each time instant of fMRI recordings is proposed. The suggested...
Modeling and Decoding Complex Problem Solving Process by Artificial Neural Networks
Akan, Adil Kaan; Kivilcim, Baran Baris; Akbaş, Emre; Newman, Sharlene D.; Yarman Vural, Fatoş Tunay (2019-01-01)
It is hypothesized that the process of complex problem solving in human brain consists of two basic phases, namely, planning and execution. In this study, we propose a computational model in order to verify this hypothesis. For this purpose, we develop a holistic approach for decoding the planning and execution phases of complex problem solving, using the functional magnetic resonance imaging data (fMRI), recorded when the subjects play the Tower of London (TOL) game. In the first step of the proposed stud...
Estimation of nonlinear neural source interactions via sliced bicoherence
Özkurt, Tolga Esat (2016-09-01)
Neural oscillations and their spatiotemporal interactions are of interest for the description of brain mechanisms. This study offers a novel third order spectral coupling measure named "sliced bicoherence". It is the diagonal slice of cross-bicoherence allowing an efficient quantification of the nonlinear interactions between neural sources. Our methodology comprises an indirect estimation method, a parametric confidence level formula and a subtracted version for robustness to volume conduction. The methodo...
Encoding Multi-Resolution Brain Networks Using Unsupervised Deep Learning
Rahnama, Arash; Alchihabi, Abdullah; Gupta, Vijay; Antsaklis, Panos J.; Yarman Vural, Fatoş Tunay (2017-10-25)
The main goal of this study is to extract a set of brain networks in multiple time-resolutions to analyze the connectivity patterns among the anatomic regions for a given cognitive task. We suggest a deep architecture which learns the natural groupings of the connectivity patterns of human brain in multiple time-resolutions. The suggested architecture is tested on task data set of Human Connectome Project (HCP) where we extract multi-resolution networks, each of which corresponds to a cognitive task. At the...
Parallel implementation of the boundary element method for electromagnetic source imaging of the human brain
Ataseven, Yoldaş; Gençer, Nevzat Güneri; Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (2005)
Human brain functions are based on the electrochemical activity and interaction of the neurons constituting the brain. Some brain diseases are characterized by abnormalities of this activity. Detection of the location and orientation of this electrical activity is called electro-magnetic source imaging (EMSI) and is of signi cant importance since it promises to serve as a powerful tool for neuroscience. Boundary Element Method (BEM) is a method applicable for EMSI on realistic head geometries that generates...
Citation Formats
S. Geduk, “Important issues for brain connectivity modelling by discrete dynamic bayesian networks.,” Thesis (M.S.) -- Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences. Electrical and Electronics Engineering., Middle East Technical University, 2020.