Sparse optimization in feature selection: application in neuroimaging

Feature selection plays an important role in the successful application of machine learning techniques to large real-world datasets. Avoiding model overfitting, especially when the number of features far exceeds the number of observations, requires selecting informative features and/or eliminating irrelevant ones. Searching for an optimal subset of features can be computationally expensive. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) produces datasets with such characteristics creating challenges for applying machine learning techniques to classify cognitive states based on fMRI data. In this study, we present an embedded feature selection framework that integrates sparse optimization for regularization (or sparse regularization) and classification. This optimization approach attempts to maximize training accuracy while simultaneously enforcing sparsity by penalizing the objective function for the coefficients of the features. This process allows many coefficients to become zero, which effectively eliminates their corresponding features from the classification model. To demonstrate the utility of the approach, we apply our framework to three different real-world fMRI datasets. The results show that regularized classifiers yield better classification accuracy, especially when the number of initial features is large. The results further show that sparse regularization is key to achieving scientifically-relevant generalizability and functional localization of classifier features. The approach is thus highly suited for analysis of fMRI data.