Covariate Adjusted Functional Mixed Membership Models
Statistics and Data Science in Imaging (2025)
Mixed membership models are a flexible class of models used for unsupervised learning that allow each observation to partially belong to multiple clusters or features. In this article, we extend the framework of functional mixed membership models to allow for covariate-dependent modeling structures. The framework uses a multivariate Karhunen-Loève decomposition, which allows for a scalable and flexible model. Within this framework, we establish a set of sufficient conditions to ensure the identifiability of the mean, covariance, and allocation structure up to a permutation of the labels. This article is primarily motivated by studies on functional brain imaging through electroencephalography (EEG) of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using the proposed framework, we provide novel insight into the heterogeneity of developmental changes in alpha oscillations and show that individuals with ASD have smaller developmental changes compared to their typically developing counterparts.
Recommended citation: Marco, N., Şentürk, D., Jeste, S., DiStefano, C., Dickinson, A. and Telesca, D., 2025. Covariate Adjusted Functional Mixed Membership Models. Statistics and Data Science in Imaging, 2(1), p.2566646.