Riemannian geometry meets fMRI: the advantages of modeling correlation manifolds and eigenvector subspaces

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Severino, Mario, Moretto, Manuela, McCutcheon, Robert A., Veronese, Mattia
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Severino, Mario
Moretto, Manuela
McCutcheon, Robert A.
Veronese, Mattia
author_facet Severino, Mario
Moretto, Manuela
McCutcheon, Robert A.
Veronese, Mattia
contents Correlation matrices are fundamental summaries of functional brain networks, yet standard analyses often treat entries independently, ignoring the curved geometry of correlation space. Existing geometric methods frequently lack closed-form operations or depend on arbitrary region ordering, limiting scalability. We introduce a scalable geometric framework with two components: (i) the Off-log metric, a smooth transformation mapping correlation matrices to symmetric zero-diagonal matrices. This enables closed-form expressions for distances, Frechet means, and linear models, allowing standard statistical modeling without complex manifold optimization. (ii) Grassmannian subspace discrimination, which compares subjects via principal-angle distances between eigenvector subspaces, resolving inherent sign and basis ambiguities. Both components integrate into standard machine-learning workflows for inference, regression, and classification. Validated across two clinical cohorts (Parkinson's and psychosis) and three ageing fMRI datasets, the Off-log metric increased sensitivity in permutation tests and matched or exceeded Riemannian and Euclidean baselines in classification. Brain-age prediction performance was comparable, with Riemannian metrics excelling in two of three cohorts. The Grassmannian method consistently outperformed Euclidean baselines, highlighting disease-relevant networks. Overall, geometry-aware representations improve sensitivity and predictive performance while remaining straightforward to deploy at scale.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_22334
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Riemannian geometry meets fMRI: the advantages of modeling correlation manifolds and eigenvector subspaces
Severino, Mario
Moretto, Manuela
McCutcheon, Robert A.
Veronese, Mattia
Machine Learning
Correlation matrices are fundamental summaries of functional brain networks, yet standard analyses often treat entries independently, ignoring the curved geometry of correlation space. Existing geometric methods frequently lack closed-form operations or depend on arbitrary region ordering, limiting scalability. We introduce a scalable geometric framework with two components: (i) the Off-log metric, a smooth transformation mapping correlation matrices to symmetric zero-diagonal matrices. This enables closed-form expressions for distances, Frechet means, and linear models, allowing standard statistical modeling without complex manifold optimization. (ii) Grassmannian subspace discrimination, which compares subjects via principal-angle distances between eigenvector subspaces, resolving inherent sign and basis ambiguities. Both components integrate into standard machine-learning workflows for inference, regression, and classification. Validated across two clinical cohorts (Parkinson's and psychosis) and three ageing fMRI datasets, the Off-log metric increased sensitivity in permutation tests and matched or exceeded Riemannian and Euclidean baselines in classification. Brain-age prediction performance was comparable, with Riemannian metrics excelling in two of three cohorts. The Grassmannian method consistently outperformed Euclidean baselines, highlighting disease-relevant networks. Overall, geometry-aware representations improve sensitivity and predictive performance while remaining straightforward to deploy at scale.
title Riemannian geometry meets fMRI: the advantages of modeling correlation manifolds and eigenvector subspaces
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.22334