Enhanced Graph Attention Network by Integrating Transformer for Epileptic EEG Identification

• Published in: International journal of neural systems Vol. 35; no. 8; p. 2550037
• Main Authors: Xie, Zhenhua, Lian, Jian, Wang, Dong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore 01.08.2025
• Subjects: Algorithms; Attention - physiology; Brain - physiopathology; Electroencephalography - methods; Epilepsy - diagnosis; Epilepsy - physiopathology; Humans; Neural Networks, Computer; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; graph attention network; transformer; deep learning; epileptic seizure; EEG signal classification
• DOI: 10.1142/S0129065725500376

Electroencephalography signal classification is essential for the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological disorders, with significant implications for patient treatment. Despite the progress made, existing methods face challenges such as capturing the complex dynamics of Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and generalizing across diverse patient populations. In this study, the graph attention network and the transformer model are integrated for EEG signal classification, leveraging the enhanced capability to dynamically compute attention weights and adapt to the variable relevance of brain regions. The proposed approach is capable of modeling the intricate relationships within EEG activities by learning context-dependent attention scores. We conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the proposed approach comparing with the state-of-the-art algorithms. Experimental outcomes show that it surpasses the competing models. The superior performance is attributed to the proposed approach's dynamic attention mechanism, which better captures the nuanced patterns in EEG signals across different subjects and seizure types. In the experiments, the CHB-MIT dataset was exploited, which served as a benchmark for evaluating the performance of the proposed framework in distinguishing interictal, ictal, and normal EEG patterns. The results prove the usefulness of our work in advancing EEG signal classification. The findings suggest that the combination of graph attention and self-attention mechanisms is a promising approach for improving the accuracy and reliability of EEG-based diagnostics, potentially improving the management of neurological disorders.