Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Bayesian Inferences For Beta Semiparametric Mixed Models To Analyze Longitudinal Neuroimaging Data, Xiaofeng Wang, Yingxing Li

Xiaofeng Wang

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a quantitative magnetic resonance imaging technique that measures the three-dimensional diffusion of water molecules within tissue through the application of multiple diffusion gradients. This technique is rapidly increasing in popularity for studying white matter properties and structural connectivity in the living human brain. The major measure derived from the DTI process is known as fractional anisotropy, a continuous measure restricted on the interval (0,1). Motivated from a DTI study of multiple sclerosis, we use a beta semiparametric mixed-effect regression model for the longitudinal neuroimaging data. This work extends the generalized additive model methodology with beta …