Classification of alcoholic EEG signals using wavelet scattering transform-based features. (December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Buriro, Abdul Baseer; Ahmed, Bilal; Baloch, Gulsher; Ahmed, Junaid; Shoorangiz, Reza; Weddell, Stephen J.; Jones, Richard D.
• Is Part Of: Computers in biology and medicine. Volume 139(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-12
• Subjects: Wavelet scattering transform (WST) -- Feature extraction -- Machine learning -- Convolutional neural network (CNN) -- Support vector machine (SVM) -- Alcoholism; Medicine -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Biology -- Data processing -- Periodicals; 610.285
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104969
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0010-4825

Abstract

Abstract: Following the research question and the relevant dataset, feature extraction is the most important component of machine learning and data science pipelines. The wavelet scattering transform (WST) is a recently developed knowledge-based feature extraction technique and is structurally like a convolutional neural network (CNN). It preserves information in high-frequency, is insensitive to signal deformations, and generates low variance features of real-valued signals generally required in classification tasks. With data from a publicly-available UCI database, we investigated the ability of WST-based features extracted from multichannel electroencephalogram (EEG) signals to discriminate 1.0-s EEG records of 20 male subjects with alcoholism and 20 male healthy subjects. Using record-wise 10-fold cross-validation, we found that WST-based features, inputted to a support vector machine (SVM) classifier, were able to correctly classify all alcoholic and normal EEG records. Similar performances were achieved with 1D CNN. In contrast, the highest independent-subject-wise mean 10-fold cross-validation performance was achieved with WST-based features fed to a linear discriminant (LDA) classifier. The results achieved with two 10-fold cross-validation approaches suggest that the WST together with a conventional classifier is an alternative to CNN for classification of alcoholic and normal EEGs. WST-based features from occipital and parietal regions were the most informative at discriminating between alcoholic and normal EEG records. Highlights: WST-based EEG features were explored for classification of alcoholics. Evaluations were based on record- and subject-wise 10-fold cross-validations. WST-based features and a conventional classifier is a compelling alternative to CNN. The most informative WST features correspond to occipital and parietal regions.