Structure Guided Resting State Networks Estimation via Copula linked parallel ICA

Poster No:

1582 

Submission Type:

Abstract Submission 

Authors:

Oktay Agcaoglu1, Rogers Silva2, Vince Calhoun3

Institutions:

1Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Atlanta, GA, 2TReNDS Center, Atlanta, GA, 3GSU/GATech/Emory, Atlanta, GA

First Author:

Oktay Agcaoglu, PhD  
Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS)
Atlanta, GA

Co-Author(s):

Rogers Silva  
TReNDS Center
Atlanta, GA
Vince Calhoun  
GSU/GATech/Emory
Atlanta, GA

Introduction:

fMRI is a powerful yet noisy and high-dimensional tool for investigating brain connectivity. Group independent component analysis (gICA) is commonly employed to reduce dimensionality and isolate functional networks. However, gICA decomposes fMRI data into components that can reflect contributions from gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), or artifacts, with components overlapping with WM or motion often being discarded (Allen,2011). Building on prior research demonstrating that covarying networks identified via sMRI-GM (Luo,2020) show correspondence to those observed in resting-state fMRI networks, we designed a novel multimodal framework that leverages structural data to guide resting state networks (RSN). This approach aims to encourage components from fMRI to align with structural GM maps while simultaneously linking extraneous variance to WM, thereby reducing noise contamination in the RSNs. Specifically, extraneous components related to WM are isolated to minimize their interference with GM-related networks while still allowing informative variance to be captured by the model.

Methods:

Traditional ICA methods (e.g., Infomax, FastICA) rely on fixed learning rules, limiting their ability to handle complex loss functions required for multimodal imaging. Modern computational tools, particularly deep learning frameworks (DL-F) with automatic differentiation, now enable the optimization of such functions. We introduced copula-linked parallel ICA (CLiP-ICA) (Agcaoglu, 2024), a novel method integrating DL-F, copulas, and ICA. CLiP-ICA was applied to estimate structure-guided RSNs from 4D fMRI data using 3D structural data to enhance component integrity. Data from 864 ADNI subjects included preprocessed fMRI and T1-weighted sMRI segmented into GM and WM probability maps using SPM. We analyzed two settings. First, we linked fMRI and GM with a model order of 75 using Gaussian copula dependencies ranging from 0.95 to 0.5. Second, we linked 65 fMRI components with GM and 10 fMRI components with WM to capture "extraneous components," using similar dependency values. All datasets underwent PCA, and GM/WM data were resampled to match fMRI resolution.
Supporting Image: Figure2.png
 

Results:

Results demonstrate that structural guidance reveals a greater number of meaningful components and fewer artifact components, addressing the longstanding issue of the optimal model order in ICA. Specifically, CLiP-ICA identified 50 RSNs and 45 intrinsic structural networks (ISNs) out of 75 components. Additionally, CLiP-ICA detected complex functional network connectivity (FNC) patterns across different stages of cognitive decline. It also provided complementary insights by leveraging the intricate patterns in the loading parameters of ISNs. Furthermore, introducing WM as an additional constraint further refined the estimated connectivity and enhanced sensitivity to group differences, as shown in Figure 1. The components highly linked to WM effectively captured the variance associated with WM-linked components, confining extraneous variance to them. These extraneous components are displayed in Figure 2b.
Supporting Image: Figure1_png.png
 

Conclusions:

This study introduces a novel multimodal fusion method that guides RSNs using both GM and WM structural data while preserving the full 4D features of fMRI. CLiP-ICA uncovered highly linked and modality-unique components, highlighting distinct FNC patterns and subtle variations in FNC associated with cognitive decline. Adding WM as a constraint further improved performance by confining extraneous variance to WM-linked components and refining connectivity estimates, uncovering additional group differences. Structural-functional coupling is particularly important in Alzheimer's disease, where rapid functional and structural changes are imminent. By enhancing connectivity analysis, CLiP-ICA offers critical insights into neurodegenerative processes and holds promise for broader multimodal neuroimaging applications.

Disorders of the Nervous System:

Neurodegenerative/ Late Life (eg. Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s)

Modeling and Analysis Methods:

Bayesian Modeling
fMRI Connectivity and Network Modeling 2
Methods Development 1
Task-Independent and Resting-State Analysis

Keywords:

Degenerative Disease
Design and Analysis
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Machine Learning
Modeling
Statistical Methods
STRUCTURAL MRI
Structures
White Matter

1|2Indicates the priority used for review

Abstract Information

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Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.

Resting state

Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):

Patients

Was this research conducted in the United States?

Yes

Are you Internal Review Board (IRB) certified? Please note: Failure to have IRB, if applicable will lead to automatic rejection of abstract.

Not applicable

Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.

Yes

Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel? NOTE: Any animal studies without IACUC approval will be automatically rejected.

Not applicable

Please indicate which methods were used in your research:

Functional MRI
Structural MRI

For human MRI, what field strength scanner do you use?

3.0T

Which processing packages did you use for your study?

AFNI
SPM

Provide references using APA citation style.

Agcaoglu, O., Silva, R. F., Alacam, D., Plis, S., Adali, T., & Calhoun, V. (2024). Copula-Linked Parallel ICA: A Method for Coupling Structural and Functional MRI Brain Networks. https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.19774
Allen, E. A., Erhardt, E. B., Damaraju, E., Gruner, W., Segall, J. M., Silva, R. F., Havlicek, M., Rachakonda, S., Fries, J., Kalyanam, R., Michael, A. M., Caprihan, A., Turner, J. A., Eichele, T., Adelsheim, S., Bryan, A. D., Bustillo, J., Clark, V. P., Feldstein Ewing, S. W., . . . Calhoun, V. D. (2011). A baseline for the multivariate comparison of resting-state networks. Front Syst Neurosci, 5, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2011.00002
Luo, N., Sui, J., Abrol, A., Chen, J., Turner, J. A., Damaraju, E., Fu, Z., Fan, L., Lin, D., Zhuo, C., Xu, Y., Glahn, D. C., Rodrigue, A. L., Banich, M. T., Pearlson, G. D., & Calhoun, V. D. (2020). Structural Brain Architectures Match Intrinsic Functional Networks and Vary across Domains: A Study from 15 000+ Individuals. Cereb Cortex, 30(10), 5460-5470. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaa127

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