Deep Convolutional – Generative Adversarial

Network for Autism Prediction

K Cholaraja Nithish Kumar I Selva Kumar T

Computer Science and Business Computer Science and Business Computer Science and Business
Systems Systems Systems
Sri Eshwar College of Engineering Sri Eshwar College of Engineering Sri Eshwar College of Engineering
Coimbatore, India Coimbatore, India Coimbatore, India
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Akash K
Computer Science and Business Ananth G
Systems Computer Science and Business
Sri Eshwar College of Engineering Systems
Coimbatore, India Sri Eshwar College of Engineering
[email protected] Coimbatore, India
[email protected]

Abstract— The diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum groups. The use of machine learning (ML) and artificial
disorder (ASD) present difficulties, which calls for the intelligence (AI) techniques, especially deep learning (DL),
investigation of cutting-edge technology solutions. Although has become a potential approach for ASD diagnosis and
ASD prediction using machine learning has demonstrated prediction in response to these challenges. Diagnoses can be
promise, especially with respect to accuracy achieving made more quickly and accurately by using deep learning
significant milestones, the shift to deep learning techniques techniques like convolutional neural networks (CNNs),
presents opportunities for improvement. The Deep which have the ability to extract features directly from raw
Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network (DCGAN) data. Renowned for its capacity to create and supplement
algorithm for prediction and the Convolutional Neural data, the Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial
Network (CNN) Grid Search Optimization (GSO) method Network (DCGAN) algorithm has great promise to improve
for feature extraction are combined in this study to present ASD prediction, especially in neuroimaging research. In
an integrated strategy. We want to improve ASD prediction order to improve ASD diagnosis and comprehension, we
accuracy by utilizing deep learning's ability to extract present an integrated approach in this study that combines
complicated representations straight from raw data. DCGAN-based prediction with CNN-based feature
Additionally, we present several age and gender-based extraction. Our goal is to create a strong diagnostic
classifications in an effort to clarify their roles in the framework that can transform the diagnosis and treatment of
diagnosis of ASD—a first for the field. Our research ASD by utilizing DL approaches along with age and gender
attempts to create a strong prediction system that can considerations.
discriminate between people with ASD and Typical
Development (TD) based on the analysis of brain structural
MRI (sMRI) scans, leading to more precise and trustworthy
diagnoses. In conclusion, our work offers a novel method
for predicting ASD that combines sophisticated feature 2) RELATED WORK
extraction techniques with deep learning for prediction,
ultimately leading to better patient outcomes in ASD In recent years, significant efforts have been made to use
diagnosis and treatment. machine learning and deep learning methodologies to the
prediction and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Keywords—autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Machine (ASD). This section examines the relevant literature and
Learning, Deep Learning situates the proposed Deep Convolutional Generative
1) INTRODUCTION Adversarial Network (DCGAN) method within the
framework of autism prediction research
The complex issue of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is
typified by a variety of related symptoms, social interaction
challenges, and communication impairments. The need for 2.1 Feature extraction from fMRI images:
better diagnostic techniques and interventions has become
more urgent as the prevalence of ASD has increased over
time. Comorbidity makes diagnosis much more difficult Using brain structural MRI (sMRI) scans to explore multiple
because people with ASD frequently have other problems. It categories for ASD diagnosis presents problems because of
is critical to comprehend how age and gender affect the the scans' high accuracy rates and complexity. However, few
diagnosis of ASD, since new genetic research has shown research have looked into quadruple and octal
that ASD occurs differently in different demographic classifications; instead, they have focused on binary pairs

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 which is followed by a batch normalization layer and a
such as F-ASD and F-TD, M-ASD and M-TD. In a multiple rectified linear unit (ReLU) activation function. For image
binary classification research, for example, [12] found that production, the output layer applies an appropriate activation
women had a greater detection accuracy of ASD (81%) than function, such as a hyperbolic tangent (tanh) function. The
discriminator network is made up of [number of layers]
did men (60%). Gender aspects in ASD diagnosis were layers, which are then followed by batch normalization and
investigated further by [65], who used SVM to predict 69% Leaky ReLU activations.
of ASD-F groups and 66% of ASD-M groups. In the
meantime, binary ASD classification accuracy using DL
techniques by [66] and [67] was found to be 70% and
76.24%, respectively. These results demonstrate the
possibility for increasing the accuracy of ASD diagnosis by
the use of numerous categories and DL approaches,
particularly with relation to gender and age considerations.

3) METHODOLOGY

This section describes the methodology used to create the

Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network
(DCGAN) for autism prediction. The sections address
dataset collection and preparation, the DCGAN model's
architecture, training techniques, and assessment measures.
Generator (G): The generator network tries to generate
synthetic neuroimaging samples that closely mimic real
3.1 Dataset Collection and Preprocessing data. It transforms a random noise vector, indicated as z,
into a synthetic image using a sequence of deconvolutional
The models in the study were trained and tested using the layers. The generator function has the following formula:
ABIDE database, an international professional database that
was made accessible on March 27, 2017 [70]. You may find X_fake = G(z)
out more about ABIDE at
http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org/indi/abide/. Discriminator (D): The discriminator network is designed to
differentiate between authentic and fabricated neuroimaging
The information in the ABIDE database was gathered from samples. It extracts features from the input data using
convolutional layers and returns a probability score (P_real)
the 29 distinct locations that are shown in Table 1. The first
reflecting the authenticity of the input image. The
study repository, known as Data1, consisted of T1 weighted discriminator function has the following formula:
sequence and sMRI of 2248 participants, 1072 ASD, and
1176 TD collected from 29 locations from ABIDE. One by P_real = D(X)
one, every image in the library was scanned to ensure
clarity. Following the sharpness scan, 1831 image data
totaling 938 ASD and 893 TD were utilized as Data1 in this 3.4 Training Methodology
investigation.
The DCGAN model is trained using an adversarial training
There were three stages involved in the pre-processing of
approach that pits the generator and discriminator networks
the raw data. The hazy photos were removed in the initial
against each other in a minimax game. The training method
pre-processing stage. Figure 1 provides examples of
ambiguous visuals. The Canny Edge Detection (CED) switches between updating the generator's parameters and
technique applied edge detection to every picture data set the discriminator in progressive mini-batches.
during the second pre-processing stage. Following CED
processing, the newly collected image is cropped from the Generator Loss (L_G): The generator's motive is to
identified edges, minimizing the lost area. The second phase minimize the variation in distribution between created
of data pre-processing, which includes the CED processing. and authentic samples. This is accomplished by
The dataset was five times magnified in the third pre- minimizing the binary cross-entropy loss that exists
processing stage where each image was exposed to DA via between the discriminator's estimates on the samples
right-left flip, 90o right rotation, 180o right rotation, and 5% generated and a vector of ones. The generator loss
salting. formula is as follows:

L_G = -log(D(G(z)))
3.2 DCGAN Architecture

A generator (G) and a discriminator (D) neural network Discriminator Loss (L_D): The discriminator's purpose
comprise the DCGAN architecture. The generator creates is to optimize its ability to distinguish between genuine
synthetic neuroimaging data samples, while the and manufactured data. The discriminator loss is the sum
discriminator tells the difference between real and created of two binary cross-entropy terms for real and produced
samples. Both networks use convolutional layers to extract
hierarchical characteristics from images. The generator samples. The discriminator loss formula is as follows:
network is made up of [number of layers] layers, each of L_D = -log(P_real) - log(1 - P_fake)
 )
0.72 0.68 0.75 0.71
SVM

CNN 0.79 0.77 0.81 0.79

4) EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

In this part, we discuss the dataset, evaluation criteria, visual When compared to existing approaches, our DCGAN model
representation, and performance ratings of our Deep outperforms them across all evaluation measures, indicating
Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network (DCGAN) its efficacy in autism prediction based on neuroimaging
for autism diagnosis. data.

5.1 Dataset Description

5.3 Graphic Representation
As a result, the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange
(ABIDE) program has collected behavioral and anatomical Figure 1 compares real neuroimaging data samples to
brain imaging data from research facilities worldwide. Its synthetic samples generated by the DCGAN to visually
primary goal is to improve our understanding of the examine the quality of our DCGAN-derived data:
neurological roots of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
ABIDE 1 includes a large dataset with 1,113 individuals,
including 540 persons with ASD and 573 without, ranging
in age from Six to sixty-five, with a median age of 15.7
years throughout the two groups. ABIDE II includes 20
collaborating organizations, comprising 11 founding
universities and 9 new collaborators, who have contributed
1,115 datasets containing 522 persons with ASD and 594
without, ranging in age from 4 to 66 years. In our research
efforts, we employ the ABIDE dataset to assess the efficacy
of the proposed system.

Within the fMRI data related to autism spectrum disorder

(ASD) brain regions, there emerged two distinct clusters of
regions exhibiting both negative and positive associations.
Firstly, an expansive network encompassing frontal and
posterior brain areas exhibited a negative correlation with Figure 1: Accuracy, precision, recall, f1-score across
resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) activity. Secondly, a posterior methods
cluster of areas demonstrated significant positive
correlations with rs-fMRI activation.

5.2 Evaluation metrics

We used common assessment measures to evaluate the

performance of our DCGAN model:

Accuracy (ACC): The percentage of cases properly

classified.
Precision (PREC) is defined as the proportion of genuine
positive predictions to total predicted positives.
The ratio of true positive forecasts to total actual positives is
known as recall (RECALL).
F1-score (F1): Precision and memory are balanced by the
harmonic mean.

Table 1: Model Performance Comparison

Figure 2: 3D- visualization of methods
Method Accuracy Precision Recall F1-
score This graphic depicts the DCGAN's capacity to produce data
DC that closely resembles real neuroimaging samples.
GAN(proposed 0.85 0.82 0.89 0.85
 of Biomedical and Health Informatics, vol. 14, no. 3, pp.
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