Heterogeneous transfer learning model for improving the classification performance of fNIRS signals in motor imagery among cross-subject stroke patients

IntroductionMotor imagery functional near-infrared spectroscopy (MI-fNIRS) offers precise monitoring of neural activity in stroke rehabilitation, yet accurate cross-subject classification remains challenging due to limited training samples and significant inter-subject variability. This study propos...

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Main Authors: Jin Feng, YunDe Li, ZiJun Huang, Yehang Chen, SenLiang Lu, RongLiang Hu, QingHui Hu, YuYao Chen, XiMiao Wang, Yong Fan, Jing He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1555690/full
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Summary:IntroductionMotor imagery functional near-infrared spectroscopy (MI-fNIRS) offers precise monitoring of neural activity in stroke rehabilitation, yet accurate cross-subject classification remains challenging due to limited training samples and significant inter-subject variability. This study proposes a Cross-Subject Heterogeneous Transfer Learning Model (CHTLM) to enhance the generalization of MI-fNIRS signal classification in stroke patients.MethodsCHTLM leverages labeled electroencephalogram (EEG) data from healthy individuals as the source domain. An adaptive feature matching network aligns task-relevant feature maps and convolutional layers between source (EEG) and target (fNIRS) domains. Multi-scale fNIRS features are extracted, and a sparse Bayesian extreme learning machine classifies the fused deep learning features.ResultsExperiments utilized two MI-fNIRS datasets from eight stroke patients pre- and post-rehabilitation. CHTLM achieved average accuracies of 0.831 (pre-rehabilitation) and 0.913 (post-rehabilitation), with mean AUCs of 0.887 and 0.930, respectively. Compared to five baselines, CHTLM improved accuracy by 8.6–10.5% pre-rehabilitation and 11.3–15.7% post-rehabilitation.DiscussionThe model demonstrates robust cross-subject generalization by transferring task-specific knowledge from heterogeneous EEG data while addressing domain discrepancies. Its performance gains post-rehabilitation suggest clinical potential for monitoring recovery progress. CHTLM advances MI-fNIRS-based brain-computer interfaces in stroke rehabilitation by mitigating data scarcity and variability challenges.
ISSN:1662-5161