GKAN: Explainable Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease Using Graph Neural Network with Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that poses significant diagnostic challenges due to its complex etiology. Graph Convolutional Networks (GCNs) have shown promise in modeling brain connectivity for AD diagnosis, yet their reliance on linear transformations limits their ability to capture intricate nonlinear patterns in neuroimaging data. To address this, we propose GCN-KAN, a novel single-modal framework that integrates Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KAN) into GCNs to enhance both diagnostic accuracy and interpretability. Leveraging structural MRI data, our model employs learnable spline-based transformations to better represent brain region interactions. Evaluated on the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) dataset, GCN-KAN outperforms traditional GCNs by 4-8% in classification accuracy while providing interpretable insights into key brain regions associated with AD. This approach offers a robust and explainable tool for early AD diagnosis.

@article{ding2025_2504.00946,
  title={ GKAN: Explainable Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease Using Graph Neural Network with Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks },
  author={ Tianqi Ding and Dawei Xiang and Keith E Schubert and Liang Dong },
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.00946},
  year={ 2025 }
}