Generating Hypotheses of Dynamic Causal Graphs in Neuroscience: Leveraging Generative Factor Models of Observed Time Series

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Hauptverfasser: Brown, Zachary C., Carlson, David
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Brown, Zachary C.
Carlson, David
author_facet Brown, Zachary C.
Carlson, David
contents The field of hypothesis generation promises to reduce costs in neuroscience by narrowing the range of interventional studies needed to study various phenomena. Existing machine learning methods can generate scientific hypotheses from complex datasets, but many approaches assume causal relationships are static over time, limiting their applicability to systems with dynamic, state-dependent behavior, such as the brain. While some techniques attempt dynamic causal discovery through factor models, they often restrict relationships to linear patterns or impose other simplifying assumptions. We propose a novel method that models dynamic graphs as a conditionally weighted superposition of static graphs, where each static graph can capture nonlinear relationships. This approach enables the detection of complex, time-varying interactions between variables beyond linear limitations. Our method improves f1-scores of predicted dynamic causal patterns by roughly 22-28% on average over baselines in some of our experiments, with some improvements reaching well over 60%. A case study on real brain data demonstrates our method's ability to uncover relationships linked to specific behavioral states, offering valuable insights into neural dynamics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_20697
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Generating Hypotheses of Dynamic Causal Graphs in Neuroscience: Leveraging Generative Factor Models of Observed Time Series
Brown, Zachary C.
Carlson, David
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Applications
The field of hypothesis generation promises to reduce costs in neuroscience by narrowing the range of interventional studies needed to study various phenomena. Existing machine learning methods can generate scientific hypotheses from complex datasets, but many approaches assume causal relationships are static over time, limiting their applicability to systems with dynamic, state-dependent behavior, such as the brain. While some techniques attempt dynamic causal discovery through factor models, they often restrict relationships to linear patterns or impose other simplifying assumptions. We propose a novel method that models dynamic graphs as a conditionally weighted superposition of static graphs, where each static graph can capture nonlinear relationships. This approach enables the detection of complex, time-varying interactions between variables beyond linear limitations. Our method improves f1-scores of predicted dynamic causal patterns by roughly 22-28% on average over baselines in some of our experiments, with some improvements reaching well over 60%. A case study on real brain data demonstrates our method's ability to uncover relationships linked to specific behavioral states, offering valuable insights into neural dynamics.
title Generating Hypotheses of Dynamic Causal Graphs in Neuroscience: Leveraging Generative Factor Models of Observed Time Series
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.20697