Structurally Restricted Message-Passing within Shallow Architectures for Explainable Network-Level Brain Decoding on Small Cohorts

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has gained increasing attention due to its ability to model complex, high-dimensional brain data and capture nonlinear patterns of neural activity. However, deep learning architectures, such as Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), typically require large sample sizes to achieve stable convergence, limiting their applicability in neuroimaging contexts where data are often scarce. This challenge highlights the need for compact, data-efficient models that maintain predictive performance and interpretability. Shallow neural networks (SNNs) have demonstrated robustness in low-sample settings but commonly rely on region-level features that treat brain areas independently, overlooking the brains intrinsically network-based organization. To address this limitation, we propose a structurally constrained message-passing framework that integrates diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-derived structural connectivity with region-level fMRI signals within a shallow architecture. This approach enables network-level modeling while preserving the stability and data efficiency of SNNs. The method is evaluated on 30 subjects performing a Theory of Mind (ToM) task from the Human Connectome Project Young Adult dataset. A baseline SNN achieved global accuracies of 88.2% (fully connected), 80.0% (pruned), and 84.7% (retrained), while the proposed model achieved 87.1%, 77.6%, and 84.7%, respectively. Although structural constraints led to a more pronounced performance decrease after pruning, retraining restored accuracy to baseline levels, demonstrating that biological constraints can be incorporated without compromising predictive validity. Model interpretability was assessed using SHAP (Shapley Additive Explanations). While the baseline model primarily identified isolated regions as key contributors, the proposed framework revealed distributed, structurally coherent networks as the main drivers of classification. These networks showed correspondence with established ToM regions, including the temporo-parietal junction, superior temporal sulcus, and inferior frontal gyrus. Importantly, the findings suggest that groups of moderately informative regions can collectively form highly relevant subnetworks. Overall, the proposed framework achieves competitive performance in a limited dataset while incorporating graph-inspired message passing into a shallow architecture. Its explainability provides insight into how structurally constrained networks support stimulus-driven responses in ToM and demonstrates potential for investigating network dysfunction in disorders such as Alzheimers disease, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, mild cognitive impairment, and schizophrenia.