Deep learning-based methods have achieved remarkable success in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). However, its inherent assumption of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) data renders it vulnerable to out-of-distribution (OOD) scenarios. To address this limitation, the present study proposed a causality-driven convolutional manifold attention network (CD-CMAN) that learned invariant representations from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals to enhance OOD generalization. The framework began with a spatiotemporal convolution module to extract rich temporal and spatial features. Guided by the defined structural causal model and leveraging the strengths of Riemannian geometry and deep learning, dual latent encoders with manifold attention units were crafted to explicitly separate spatiotemporal feature maps into semantic and variation latent factors. A reconstruction module with a dedicated loss was implemented to ensure these factors retaining informative, while the Hilbert-Schmidt independence criterion (HSIC) was introduced to enforce their statistical independence. Further, a variational information bottleneck and gradient reversal layer were incorporated to compress and disentangle the semantic and variation factors. Evaluations on two public datasets under both subject-dependent and subject-independent settings demonstrated that CD-CMAN consistently outperforms comparative baselines. These findings suggest that the proposed model could provide a new solution for the practical application of BCI technology.

The neural activity patterns of localized brain regions are crucial for recognizing brain intentions. However, existing electroencephalogram (EEG) decoding models, especially those based on deep learning, predominantly focus on global spatial features, neglecting valuable local information, potentially leading to suboptimal performance. Therefore, this study proposed a dynamic hierarchical convolutional attention network (DH-CAN) that comprehensively learned discriminative information from both global and local spatial domains, as well as from time-frequency domains in EEG signals. Specifically, a multiscale convolutional block was designed to dynamically capture time-frequency information. The channels of EEG signals were mapped to different brain regions based on motor imagery neural activity patterns. The spatial features, both global and local, were then hierarchically extracted to fully exploit the discriminative information. Furthermore, regional connectivity was established using a graph attention network, incorporating it into the local spatial features. Particularly, this study shared network parameters between symmetrical brain regions to better capture asymmetrical motor imagery patterns. Finally, the learned multilevel features were integrated through a high-level fusion layer. Extensive experimental results on two datasets demonstrated that the proposed model performed excellently across multiple evaluation metrics, exceeding existing benchmark methods. These findings suggested that the proposed model offered a novel perspective for EEG decoding research.

Considering the significant safety incidents arising from the fatigue-induced operations of tower crane drivers in prefabricated building construction, this study proposed the utilization of a new portable semi-dry electrode for real-time monitoring of the cognitive fatigue levels in tower crane drivers, aiming to mitigate instances of unsafe operational conduct. This type of semi-dry electrode possesses the merits of facile placement and low impedance, rendering it conducive for application in construction settings. Furthermore, the study applied Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MF-DFA) to analyze the electroencephalogram (EEG) features of tower crane operators. Evaluation and comparison using the traditional wet electrode and the new semi-dry electrode to extract the EEG features show that the performance of the novel semi-dry electrode closely approximates that of the traditional wet electrode, effectively tracking alterations in the cognitive fatigue indicators among tower crane drivers during prefabricated building construction. These findings contribute to the detection of the mental state of tower crane drivers and the identification of physiological characteristics associated with unsafe conduct in the actual process of prefabricated construction, thereby enhancing construction safety.

Subjective effort can significantly affect the ability of humans to act optimally in dynamic manipulation tasks. In a previous study, we designed a complex object coupling manipulation task that required tight performance and induced high cognitive workload. We hypothesize that strong-effort-related physiological reactivity during the dynamic manipulation task improves the user performance in an undesired task feedback situation. To test this hypothesis, using the motor intentions' discrimination from electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements, we evaluate the effort expended by 20 participants in a controlling task with constraints involving complex coupling objects. Specifically, the finer motor decisions are obtained from the controlling information in EEG by using two fingers from the same hand rather than two hands. The motor intention is decoded from a task-dependent EEG through a regularized discriminant analysis, and the area under the curve is [Formula: see text]. Furthermore, we compare the undesired and desired task feedback conditions along with the individual's effort dynamic adjustment, and investigate whether the undesired task feedback improved the discrimination of the motor activities. A stronger effort to attain the desired feedback state corresponds to improved motor activity discrimination from the EEG in the undesired task feedback scenario. The differences in the brain activities under the undesired and desired task feedback conditions are analyzed using brain-network-based topographical scalp maps. Our experiment provides preliminary evidence that inducing strong effort can improve discrimination performance during highly demanding tasks. This finding can advance our understanding of human attention, potentially improve the accuracy of intention recognition, and may inspire better EEG acquisition contexts.

This paper proposes a real-time electroencephalogram (EEG)-based detection method of the potential danger during fatigue driving. To determine driver fatigue in real time, wavelet entropy with a sliding window and pulse coupled neural network (PCNN) were used to process the EEG signals in the visual area (the main information input route). To detect the fatigue danger, the neural mechanism of driver fatigue was analyzed. The functional brain networks were employed to track the fatigue impact on processing capacity of brain. The results show the overall functional connectivity of the subjects is weakened after long time driving tasks. The regularity is summarized as the fatigue convergence phenomenon. Based on the fatigue convergence phenomenon, we combined both the input and global synchronizations of brain together to calculate the residual amount of the information processing capacity of brain to obtain the dangerous points in real time. Finally, the danger detection system of the driver fatigue based on the neural mechanism was validated using accident EEG. The time distributions of the output danger points of the system have a good agreement with those of the real accident points.