Graph-based deep learning models in the prediction of early-stage Alzheimers

Alzheimer's disease is the most common age-related problem and progresses in different stages, from cognitively normal to early mild cognitive impairment, and severe dementia. This study investigates the predictive potential of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and its derived functional connectivity (FC) in understanding Alzheimer's progression. Leveraging deep learning and graph-based models, we introduce two key contributions: 1) a comparative analysis of rs-fMRI time points and FC for Alzheimer's prediction. 2) an innovative graph transformer variant incorporating self-clustering for enhanced prediction accuracy. Experiments on the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative dataset with 830 subjects reveal two notable conclusions. Firstly, rs-fMRI time points offer limited utility compared to functional network connectivity for transformer-based models, even when considering temporal information. Secondly, a clustering-based attention module proves effective for classifying brain networks in predicting Alzheimer's disease progression, providing valuable insights for future research and clinical applications.