Multiple Imputation Method for High-Dimensional Neuroimaging Data

Abstract: Missingness is a common issue for neuroimaging data, and neglecting it in downstream statistical analysis can introduce bias and lead to misguided inferential conclusions. It is therefore crucial to conduct appropriate statistical methods to address this issue. While multiple imputation is a popular technique for handling missing data, its application to neuroimaging data is hindered by high dimensionality and complex dependence structures of multivariate neuroimaging variables. To tackle this challenge, we propose a novel approach, named High Dimensional Multiple Imputation (HIMA), based on Bayesian models. HIMA develops a new computational strategy for sampling large covariance matrices based on a robustly estimated posterior mode, which drastically enhances computational efficiency and numerical stability. To assess the effectiveness of HIMA, we conducted extensive simulation studies and real-data analysis using neuroimaging data from a Schizophrenia study. HIMA showcases a computational efficiency improvement of over 2000 times when compared to traditional approaches, while also producing imputed datasets with improved precision and stability.