EEG-based cerebral pattern analysis for neurological disorder detection via hybrid machine and deep learning approaches

Background

Monitoring neurological disorders is crucial for the early detection of neurodegeneration and abnormal neural activity of the human brain.

New methods

This study combines a feature-based random forest (RF) machine learning model with an image-based convolutional neural network (CNN) deep-learning approach, forming a hybrid random forest-convolutional neural network (RF-CNN) model to detect neurological disorders such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and epilepsy (Ep) using electroencephalography (EEG) signals. EEG data from 19 channels were segmented into delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands, generating power-based features, spectral topographic maps, and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) based scalograms, as inputs for cerebral pattern analysis.

Results

The experimental results demonstrated detection accuracy of 88 % and F1-score of 84.85 % with RF, accuracy of 97.58 % and F1-score of 95.16 % using scalograms, accuracy of 98.39 % and F1-score of 97.64 % using spectral maps, and an outstanding 99.19 % accuracy and 98.32 % F1-score with hybrid RF-CNN model.

Comparison with existing methods

Unlike previous models that relied solely on feature-based machine learning or image-based deep learning, this approach enhances disorder detection with greater accuracy by integrating both features and images. Features like power asymmetry increase with cognitive decline, indicating hemispheric imbalance, while a declining cognition index reflects interhemispheric communication loss. Additionally, images including spectral topographic maps and CWT-based scalograms provide a comprehensive view of spatial power distribution and time-frequency characteristics.

Conclusion

The hybrid RF-CNN approach enhances more reliable analysis of altered non-linear brain dynamics and transitional phases, making it a valuable tool for detecting neurological disorders.