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Learning to decode human emotions from event-related potentials

  • Advances in Intelligent Data Processing and Analysis
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Abstract

Reported works on electroencephalogram (EEG)-based emotion recognition systems generally employ the principles of supervised learning to build subject-dependent (single/intra-subject) models. Building subject-independent (multiple/inter-subject) models is a harder problem due to the EEG data variability between subjects. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, we provide a framework for selection of a small number of basic temporal features, event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes, and latencies that are sufficiently robust to discriminate emotion states across multiple subjects. Second, we test comparatively the feasibility of six standard unsupervised (clustering) techniques to build intra-subject and inter-subject models to discriminate emotion valence in the ERPs collected while subjects were viewing high arousal images with positive or negative emotional content.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported partially by the project “Data mining methods for development and assessment of software services,” 2014 of Science Fund of SU “Kl. Ohridski.” It was also supported by the bilateral student Erasmus program between University of Aveiro, Portugal, and Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski,” Bulgaria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FMI, Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”, Sofia, Bulgaria

    O. Georgieva & S. Milanov

  2. DETI/IEETA, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    P. Georgieva

  3. Dept. de Educação, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    I. M. Santos, A. T. Pereira & C. F. Silva

  4. Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), Coimbra, Portugal

    I. M. Santos, A. T. Pereira & C. F. Silva

  5. Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Porto, Portugal

    I. M. Santos, A. T. Pereira & C. F. Silva

Authors
  1. O. Georgieva
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  2. S. Milanov
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  3. P. Georgieva
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  4. I. M. Santos
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  5. A. T. Pereira
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  6. C. F. Silva
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Correspondence to P. Georgieva.

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Georgieva, O., Milanov, S., Georgieva, P. et al. Learning to decode human emotions from event-related potentials. Neural Comput & Applic 26, 573–580 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-014-1653-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-014-1653-6

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