Temporally extended goal recognition in fully observable non-deterministic domain models: Temporally extended goal recognition in FOND planning.

Goal Recognition is the task of discerning the intended goal that an agent aims to achieve, given a set of goal hypotheses, a domain model, and a sequence of observations (i.e., a sample of the plan executed in the environment). Existing approaches assume that goal hypotheses comprise a single conjunctive formula over a single final state and that the environment dynamics are deterministic, preventing the recognition of temporally extended goals in more complex settings. In this paper, we expand goal recognition to temporally extended goals in Fully Observable Non-Deterministic (fond) planning domain models, focusing on goals on finite traces expressed in Linear Temporal Logic (ltlf) and Pure-Past Linear Temporal Logic (ppltl). We develop the first approach capable of recognizing goals in such settings and evaluate it using different ltlf and ppltl goals over six fond planning domain models. Empirical results show that our approach is accurate in recognizing temporally extended goals in different recognition settings.

Visual Explanation for Identification of the Brain Bases for Developmental Dyslexia on fMRI Data.

Problem: Brain imaging studies of mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders have recently included machine learning approaches to identify patients based solely on their brain activation. The goal is to identify brain-related features that generalize from smaller samples of data to larger ones; in the case of neurodevelopmental disorders, finding these patterns can help understand differences in brain function and development that underpin early signs of risk for developmental dyslexia. The success of machine learning classification algorithms on neurofunctional data has been limited to typically homogeneous data sets of few dozens of participants. More recently, larger brain imaging data sets have allowed for deep learning techniques to classify brain states and clinical groups solely from neurofunctional features. Indeed, deep learning techniques can provide helpful tools for classification in healthcare applications, including classification of structural 3D brain images. The adoption of deep learning approaches allows for incremental improvements in classification performance of larger functional brain imaging data sets, but still lacks diagnostic insights about the underlying brain mechanisms associated with disorders; moreover, a related challenge involves providing more clinically-relevant explanations from the neural features that inform classification. Methods: We target this challenge by leveraging two network visualization techniques in convolutional neural network layers responsible for learning high-level features. Using such techniques, we are able to provide meaningful images for expert-backed insights into the condition being classified. We address this challenge using a dataset that includes children diagnosed with developmental dyslexia, and typical reader children. Results: Our results show accurate classification of developmental dyslexia (94.8%) from the brain imaging alone, while providing automatic visualizations of the features involved that match contemporary neuroscientific knowledge (brain regions involved in the reading process for the dyslexic reader group and brain regions associated with strategic control and attention processes for the typical reader group). Conclusions: Our visual explanations of deep learning models turn the accurate yet opaque conclusions from the models into evidence to the condition being studied.

Predicting Brain Age at Slice Level: Convolutional Neural Networks and Consequences for Interpretability.

Problem: Chronological aging in later life is associated with brain degeneration processes and increased risk for disease such as stroke and dementia. With a worldwide tendency of aging populations and increased longevity, mental health, and psychiatric research have paid increasing attention to understanding brain-related changes of aging. Recent findings suggest there is a brain age gap (a difference between chronological age and brain age predicted by brain imaging indices); the magnitude of the gap may indicate early onset of brain aging processes and disease. Artificial intelligence has allowed for a narrowing of the gap in chronological and predicted brain age. However, the factors that drive model predictions of brain age are still unknown, and there is not much about these factors that can be gleaned from the black-box nature of machine learning models. The goal of the present study was to test a brain age regression approach that is more amenable to interpretation by researchers and clinicians. Methods: Using convolutional neural networks we trained multiple regressor models to predict brain age based on single slices of magnetic resonance imaging, which included gray matter- or white matter-segmented inputs. We evaluated the trained models in all brain image slices to generate a final prediction of brain age. Unlike whole-brain approaches to classification, the slice-level predictions allows for the identification of which brain slices and associated regions have the largest difference between chronological and neuroimaging-derived brain age. We also evaluated how model predictions were influenced by slice index and plane, participant age and sex, and MRI data collection site. Results: The results show, first, that the specific slice used for prediction affects prediction error (i.e., difference between chronological age and neuroimaging-derived brain age); second, the MRI site-stratified separation of training and test sets removed site effects and also minimized sex effects; third, the choice of MRI slice plane influences the overall error of the model. Conclusion: Compared to whole brain-based predictive models of neuroimaging-derived brain age, slice-based approach improves the interpretability and therefore the reliability of the prediction of brain age using MRI data.

Identification of autism spectrum disorder using deep learning and the ABIDE dataset.

The goal of the present study was to apply deep learning algorithms to identify autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients from large brain imaging dataset, based solely on the patients brain activation patterns. We investigated ASD patients brain imaging data from a world-wide multi-site database known as ABIDE (Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange). ASD is a brain-based disorder characterized by social deficits and repetitive behaviors. According to recent Centers for Disease Control data, ASD affects one in 68 children in the United States. We investigated patterns of functional connectivity that objectively identify ASD participants from functional brain imaging data, and attempted to unveil the neural patterns that emerged from the classification. The results improved the state-of-the-art by achieving 70% accuracy in identification of ASD versus control patients in the dataset. The patterns that emerged from the classification show an anticorrelation of brain function between anterior and posterior areas of the brain; the anticorrelation corroborates current empirical evidence of anterior-posterior disruption in brain connectivity in ASD. We present the results and identify the areas of the brain that contributed most to differentiating ASD from typically developing controls as per our deep learning model.

Brainhack: a collaborative workshop for the open neuroscience community.

Brainhack events offer a novel workshop format with participant-generated content that caters to the rapidly growing open neuroscience community. Including components from hackathons and unconferences, as well as parallel educational sessions, Brainhack fosters novel collaborations around the interests of its attendees. Here we provide an overview of its structure, past events, and example projects. Additionally, we outline current innovations such as regional events and post-conference publications. Through introducing Brainhack to the wider neuroscience community, we hope to provide a unique conference format that promotes the features of collaborative, open science.