EEG Foundation Challenge: From Cross-Task to Cross-Subject EEG Decoding
This work addresses the problem of limited generalizability in EEG decoding models for researchers and clinicians, by providing a benchmark to develop more adaptable architectures and potential biomarkers for mental health.
The paper introduces a large-scale competition with two challenges: zero-shot decoding of EEG data across new tasks and subjects, and predicting mental health factors from EEG, using a dataset of over 3,000 subjects with high-density EEG signals.
Current electroencephalogram (EEG) decoding models are typically trained on small numbers of subjects performing a single task. Here, we introduce a large-scale, code-submission-based competition comprising two challenges. First, the Transfer Challenge asks participants to build and test a model that can zero-shot decode new tasks and new subjects from their EEG data. Second, the Psychopathology factor prediction Challenge asks participants to infer subject measures of mental health from EEG data. For this, we use an unprecedented, multi-terabyte dataset of high-density EEG signals (128 channels) recorded from over 3,000 child to young adult subjects engaged in multiple active and passive tasks. We provide several tunable neural network baselines for each of these two challenges, including a simple network and demographic-based regression models. Developing models that generalise across tasks and individuals will pave the way for ML network architectures capable of adapting to EEG data collected from diverse tasks and individuals. Similarly, predicting mental health-relevant personality trait values from EEG might identify objective biomarkers useful for clinical diagnosis and design of personalised treatment for psychological conditions. Ultimately, the advances spurred by this challenge could contribute to the development of computational psychiatry and useful neurotechnology, and contribute to breakthroughs in both fundamental neuroscience and applied clinical research.