Regularized Group Sparse Discriminant Analysis for P300-Based Brain–Computer Interface

Event-related potentials (ERPs) especially P300 are popular effective features for brain–computer interface (BCI) systems based on electroencephalography (EEG). Traditional ERP-based BCI systems may perform poorly for small training samples, i.e. the undersampling problem. In this study, the ERP classification problem was investigated, in particular, the ERP classification in the high-dimensional setting with the number of features larger than the number of samples was studied. A flexible group sparse discriminative analysis algorithm based on Moreau–Yosida regularization was proposed for alleviating the undersampling problem. An optimization problem with the group sparse criterion was presented, and the optimal solution was proposed by using the regularized optimal scoring method. During the alternating iteration procedure, the feature selection and classification were performed simultaneously. Two P300-based BCI datasets were used to evaluate our proposed new method and compare it with existing standard methods. The experimental results indicated that the features extracted via our proposed method are efficient and provide an overall better P300 classification accuracy compared with several state-of-the-art methods.

Deception Decreases Brain Complexity

Extensive evidence suggests the feasibility of lie detection using electroencephalograms (EEGs). However, it is largely unknown whether there are any differences in the nonlinear features of EEGs between guilty and innocent subjects. In this study, we proposed a complexity-based method to distinguish lying from truth telling. A total of 35 participants were randomly divided into two groups, and their EEG signals were recorded with 14 electrodes. Averages for sequential sets of five trials were first calculated for the probe responses within each subject. Next, a common wavelet entropy (WE) measure and an improved one were used to quantify complexity from each five-trial average. The results show that for both measures, the WE values in the guilty subjects are statistically lower than those in the innocent subjects for most of the 14 electrodes. More importantly, using the improved measure, the difference in WE between the two groups of subjects significantly increases for 11 brain regions compared with the values from the common measure. Finally, the highest balanced classification accuracy, 89.64%, is achieved when using the combined WE feature vector in five brain regions from the sites of Pz, P3, C4, Cz, and C3. Our findings indicate that the lying task elicits a more ordered brain activity in some specific brain regions than the task of telling the truth. This study not only demonstrates that improved WE measurements could be a powerful quantitative index for detecting lying but also sheds light on the brain mechanisms underlying deceptive behaviors.

A novel approach for lie detection based on F-score and extreme learning machine

A new machine learning method referred to as F-score_ELM was proposed to classify the lying and truth-telling using the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals from 28 guilty and innocent subjects. Thirty-one features were extracted from the probe responses from these subjects. Then, a recently-developed classifier called extreme learning machine (ELM) was combined with F-score, a simple but effective feature selection method, to jointly optimize the number of the hidden nodes of ELM and the feature subset by a grid-searching training procedure. The method was compared to two classification models combining principal component analysis with back-propagation network and support vector machine classifiers. We thoroughly assessed the performance of these classification models including the training and testing time, sensitivity and specificity from the training and testing sets, as well as network size. The experimental results showed that the number of the hidden nodes can be effectively optimized by the proposed method. Also, F-score_ELM obtained the best classification accuracy and required the shortest training and testing time.

DOUBLE-LAYERED MODELS CAN EXPLAIN MACRO AND MICRO STRUCTURE OF HUMAN SLEEP

The model simulates the activity of three neural populations using a Lotka–Volterra predator–prey system and, based on neuro-anatomical and neuro-physiological recent findings, assumes that a functional thalamo-cortical gate should be crossed by 'queuing' thalamic signals and that a sleep promoting substance acts as a modulator. The resultant activity accounts for the sleep stage transitions. In accordance with sleep cycles timing, the model proves to be able to reproduce the clustering and randomness of those peculiar transient synchronized EEG patterns (TSEP) described in normal human sleep and supposed to be related to the dynamic building up of NREM sleep until its stabilization against perturbations.

Adaptive filtering and random variables coefficient for analyzing functional magnetic resonance imaging data

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to study brain functional connectivity (FC) after filtering the physiological noise (PN). Herein, we employ: adaptive filtering for removing nonstationary PN; random variables (RV) coefficient for FC analysis. Comparisons with standard techniques were performed by quantifying PN filtering and FC in neural vs. non-neural regions. As a result, adaptive filtering plus RV coefficient showed a greater suppression of PN and higher connectivity in neural regions, representing a novel effective approach to analyze fMRI data.

Wavelet coherence model for diagnosis of Alzheimer disease

This article presents a wavelet coherence investigation of electroencephalograph (EEG) readings acquired from patients with Alzheimer disease (AD)  and healthy controls. Pairwise electrode wavelet coherence is calculated over each frequency band (delta, theta, alpha, and beta). For comparing the synchronization fraction of 2 EEG signals, a wavelet coherence fraction is proposed which is defined as the fraction of the signal time during which the wavelet coherence value is above a certain threshold. A one-way analysis of variance test shows a set of statistically significant differences in wavelet coherence between AD and controls. The wavelet coherence method is effective for studying cortical connectivity at a high temporal resolution. Compared with other conventional AD coherence studies, this study takes into account the time-frequency changes in coherence of EEG signals and thus provides more correlational details. A set of statistically significant differences was found in the wavelet coherence among AD and controls. In particular, temporocentral regions show a significant decrease in wavelet coherence in AD in the delta band, and the parietal and central regions show significant declines in cortical connectivity with most of their neighbors in the theta and alpha bands. This research shows that wavelet coherence can be used as a powerful tool to differentiate between healthy elderly individuals and probable AD patients.