A mutual information estimator with exponentially decaying bias.

Abstract

A nonparametric estimator of mutual information is proposed and is shown to have asymptotic normality and efficiency, and a bias decaying exponentially in sample size. The asymptotic normality and the rapidly decaying bias together offer a viable inferential tool for assessing mutual information between two random elements on finite alphabets where the maximum likelihood estimator of mutual information greatly inflates the probability of type I error. The proposed estimator is illustrated by three examples in which the association between a pair of genes is assessed based on their expression levels. Several results of simulation study are also provided.