FedHERO: A Federated Learning Approach for Node Classification Task on Heterophilic Graphs

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Chen, Zihan, Fu, Xingbo, Dong, Yushun, Li, Jundong, Shen, Cong
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Chen, Zihan
Fu, Xingbo
Dong, Yushun
Li, Jundong
Shen, Cong
author_facet Chen, Zihan
Fu, Xingbo
Dong, Yushun
Li, Jundong
Shen, Cong
contents Federated Graph Learning (FGL) empowers clients to collaboratively train Graph neural networks (GNNs) in a distributed manner while preserving data privacy. However, FGL methods usually require that the graph data owned by all clients is homophilic to ensure similar neighbor distribution patterns of nodes. Such an assumption ensures that the learned knowledge is consistent across the local models from all clients. Therefore, these local models can be properly aggregated as a global model without undermining the overall performance. Nevertheless, when the neighbor distribution patterns of nodes vary across different clients (e.g., when clients hold graphs with different levels of heterophily), their local models may gain different and even conflict knowledge from their node-level predictive tasks. Consequently, aggregating these local models usually leads to catastrophic performance deterioration on the global model. To address this challenge, we propose FedHERO, an FGL framework designed to harness and share insights from heterophilic graphs effectively. At the heart of FedHERO is a dual-channel GNN equipped with a structure learner, engineered to discern the structural knowledge encoded in the local graphs. With this specialized component, FedHERO enables the local model for each client to identify and learn patterns that are universally applicable across graphs with different patterns of node neighbor distributions. FedHERO not only enhances the performance of individual client models by leveraging both local and shared structural insights but also sets a new precedent in this field to effectively handle graph data with various node neighbor distribution patterns. We conduct extensive experiments to validate the superior performance of FedHERO against existing alternatives.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_21206
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle FedHERO: A Federated Learning Approach for Node Classification Task on Heterophilic Graphs
Chen, Zihan
Fu, Xingbo
Dong, Yushun
Li, Jundong
Shen, Cong
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing
Federated Graph Learning (FGL) empowers clients to collaboratively train Graph neural networks (GNNs) in a distributed manner while preserving data privacy. However, FGL methods usually require that the graph data owned by all clients is homophilic to ensure similar neighbor distribution patterns of nodes. Such an assumption ensures that the learned knowledge is consistent across the local models from all clients. Therefore, these local models can be properly aggregated as a global model without undermining the overall performance. Nevertheless, when the neighbor distribution patterns of nodes vary across different clients (e.g., when clients hold graphs with different levels of heterophily), their local models may gain different and even conflict knowledge from their node-level predictive tasks. Consequently, aggregating these local models usually leads to catastrophic performance deterioration on the global model. To address this challenge, we propose FedHERO, an FGL framework designed to harness and share insights from heterophilic graphs effectively. At the heart of FedHERO is a dual-channel GNN equipped with a structure learner, engineered to discern the structural knowledge encoded in the local graphs. With this specialized component, FedHERO enables the local model for each client to identify and learn patterns that are universally applicable across graphs with different patterns of node neighbor distributions. FedHERO not only enhances the performance of individual client models by leveraging both local and shared structural insights but also sets a new precedent in this field to effectively handle graph data with various node neighbor distribution patterns. We conduct extensive experiments to validate the superior performance of FedHERO against existing alternatives.
title FedHERO: A Federated Learning Approach for Node Classification Task on Heterophilic Graphs
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.21206