A brain functional network feature extraction method based on directed transfer function and graph theory for MI-BCI decoding tasks.

Background: The development of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology has brought tremendous potential to various fields. In recent years, prominent research has focused on enhancing the accuracy of BCI decoding algorithms by effectively utilizing meaningful features extracted from electroencephalographic (EEG) signals. Objective: This paper proposes a method for extracting brain functional network features based on directed transfer function (DTF) and graph theory. The method incorporates the extracted brain network features with common spatial pattern (CSP) to enhance the performance of motor imagery (MI) classification task. Methods: The signals from each electrode of the EEG, utilizing a total of 32 channels, are used as input signals for the network nodes. In this study, 26 healthy participants were recruited to provide EEG data. The brain functional network is constructed in Alpha and Beta bands using the DTF method. The node degree (ND), clustering coefficient (CC), and global efficiency (GE) of the brain functional network are obtained using graph theory. The DTF network features and graph theory are combined with the traditional signal processing method, the CSP algorithm. The redundant network features are filtered out using the Lasso method, and finally, the fused features are classified using a support vector machine (SVM), culminating in a novel approach we have termed CDGL. Results: For Beta frequency band, with 8 electrodes, the proposed CDGL method achieved an accuracy of 89.13%, a sensitivity of 90.15%, and a specificity of 88.10%, which are 14.10, 16.69, and 11.50% percentage higher than the traditional CSP method (75.03, 73.46, and 76.60%), respectively. Furthermore, the results obtained with 8 channels were superior to those with 4 channels (82.31, 83.35, and 81.74%), and the result for the Beta frequency band were better than those for the Alpha frequency band (87.42, 87.48, and 87.36%). Similar results were also obtained on two public datasets, where the CDGL algorithm's performance was found to be optimal. Conclusion: The feature fusion of DTF network and graph theory features enhanced CSP algorithm's performance in MI task classification. Increasing the number of channels allows for more EEG signal feature information, enhancing the model's sensitivity and discriminative ability toward specific activities in brain regions. It should be noted that the functional brain network features in the Beta band exhibit superior performance improvement for the algorithm compared to those in the Alpha band.

A Fused Multidimensional EEG Classification Method Based on an Extreme Tree Feature Selection.

When a brain-computer interface (BCI) is designed, high classification accuracy is difficult to obtain for motor imagery (MI) electroencephalogram (EEG) signals in view of their relatively low signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper, a fused multidimensional classification method based on extreme tree feature selection (FMCM-ETFS) is proposed for discerning motor imagery EEG tasks. First, the EEG signal was filtered by a Butterworth filter for preprocessing. Second, C3, C4, and CZ channels were selected to extract time-frequency domain and spatial domain features using autoregressive (AR), common spatial pattern (CSP), and discrete wavelet transform (DWT). The extracted features were fused for a further feature elimination. Then, the features were selected using three feature selection methods: recursive feature elimination (RFE), principal component analysis method (PCA), and extreme trees (ET). The selected feature vectors were classified using support vector machines (SVM). Finally, a total of twelve subjects' EEG data from Inner Mongolia University of Technology (IMUT data), the 2nd BCI competition in 2003, and the 4th BCI competition in 2008 were employed to show the effectiveness of this proposed FMCM-ETFS method. The results show that the classification accuracy using the multidimensional fused feature extraction (AR + CSP + DWT) is 3%-20% higher than those using the aforementioned three single feature extractions (AR, CSP, and DWT). Extreme trees (ET), which is a sort of tree-based model method, outperforms RFE and PCA by 1%-9% in term of classification accuracies, when these three methods were applied to the procedure of feature extraction, respectively.

A classification algorithm of an SSVEP brain-Computer interface based on CCA fusion wavelet coefficients.

BACKGROUND: In the study of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), how to improve the classification accuracies of BCIs has always been the focus of researchers. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is widely used in BCI systems of SSVEPs because of its rapidity and scalability. However, the classical CCA algorithm always encounters the difficulty of low accuracy in a short time. NEW METHOD: For targetless stimuli, this paper proposes a fusion algorithm (CCA-CWT-SVM) that is combined with CCA, a continuous wavelet transform, and a support vector machine (SVM) to improve the low classification accuracies when a single feature extraction method is used. RESULTS: This fusion algorithm achieves high accuracies and information transfer rates (ITRs) in the SSVEP paradigm with few targets. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS: Through the study of 400 groups of experimental data from 10 subjects, the results show that CCA-CWT-SVM has a classification accuracy of 91.76% within 2 s and an ITR of 48.92 bits/min, which are 10.88% and 13.18 bits/min higher than those of the standard CCA. Compared with a mainstream EEG decoding algorithm, filter bank canonical correlation analysis (FBCCA), the classification accuracy and ITR of the CCA-CWT-SVM algorithm also improved (4.45% and 5.69 bit/min, respectively). Using a dataset from Tsinghua University (THU), we also showed that the fusion algorithm is better than the classical algorithms. The CCA-CWT-SVM algorithm obtained an 89.1% accuracy and a 39.91 bit/min ITR in a time window of 2 s. The results were significantly improved compared with those of CCA and the FBCCA (CCA: 79.44% and 28.23 bits/min, FBCCA: 84.03% and 33.4 bits/min). Hence, this work provides an experimental basis for designing an SSVEP-based BCI system with a high task classification accuracy in some crucial biomedical applications.