A Data Augmentation Scheme for Geometric Deep Learning in Personalized Brain–Computer Interfaces

Abstract

Electroencephalography signals inherently deviate from the notion of regular spatial sampling, as they reflect the coordinated action from multiple distributed overlapping cortical networks. Hence, the observed brain dynamics are influenced both by the topology of the sensor array and the underlying functional connectivity. Neural engineers are currently exploiting the advances in the domain of graph signal processing in an attempt to create robust and reliable brain decoding systems. In this direction, Geometric Deep Learning is a highly promising concept for combining the benefits of graph signal processing and deep learning towards revolutionising Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). However, its exploitation has been hindered by its data-demanding character. As a remedy, we propose here a novel data augmentation approach that combines the multiplex network modelling of multichannel signal with a graph variant of the classical Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), and which proves to be a strong asset when combined with Graph Convolutional Neural Networks (GCNNs). As our graph-EMD algorithm makes no assumptions with respect to linearity and stationarity, it appears as an appealing solution towards analysing brain signals without artificially imposing regularities in either temporal or spatial domain. Our experimental results indicate that the proposed scheme for data augmentation leads to substantial improvement when it is combined with GCNNs. Using recordings from two distinct BCI applications and comparing against a state-of-the-art augmentation method, we illustrate the benefits from its use. By making it available to BCI community, we hope to further foster the application of geometric deep learning in the field.