Warp Quantification Analysis: A Framework For Path-based Signal Alignment Metrics

Abstract: Dynamic time warping (DTW) is widely used to align time series evolving on mismatched timescales, yet most applications reduce alignment to a scalar distance. We introduce warp quantification analysis (WQA), a framework that derives interpretable geometric and structural descriptors from DTW paths. Controlled simulations showed that each metric selectively tracked its intended driver with minimal crosstalk. Applied to large-scale fMRI, WQA revealed distinct network signatures and complementary associations with schizophrenia negative symptom severity, capturing clinically meaningful variability beyond DTW distance. WQA transforms DTW from a single-score method into a family of alignment descriptors, offering a principled and generalizable extension for richer characterization of temporal coupling across domains where nonlinear normalization is essential.