Papers for

clinical neurotechnologists

Papers whose findings have a practical use for this group, as judged from the abstract. Open a paper to read what it means in practice.

Framework reveals how brain signal AI models make decisions

EEG-Xplain: Decoding Neural Black-Boxes of EEG Foundation Models

Abstract: EEG foundation models such as BIOT, LaBraM, and EEGMamba have achieved remarkable performance in neural signal decoding, but their black-box nature limits clinical trust and neuroscientific validation. We propose a unified attribution framework for interpreting EEG foundation models across heterogeneous architectures. The framework integrates gradient-, perturbation-, and activation-based explanation methods to analyze model behavior in spatial, temporal, and frequency dimensions. Spatially, it identifies critical EEG channels and visualizes their distributions using topographic maps. Temporally, it highlights decision-relevant signal segments through attribution heatmaps. In the frequency domain, it quantifies the contributions of canonical EEG rhythms via spectral perturbation analysis. To assess explanation reliability, we introduce a population-level evaluation combining Area Over the Perturbation Curve (AOPC) and cross-method consistency analysis. The framework further leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to transform structured attribution outputs into natural-language reports, bridging low-level neural representations and high-level semantic reasoning. Experiments on benchmark datasets, including Mumtaz2016 and TUAB, demonstrate that the generated explanations are consistent with established neurophysiological markers, validating meaningful neural representations while exposing potential dependencies on artifacts and spurious patterns. The proposed framework provides a standardized approach for evaluating the interpretability, reliability, and physiological plausibility of EEG foundation models.

Mon 14 SeptArtificial Intelligence
The gist
Brain signal decoding using AI models often works well but is hard to understand, which makes doctors hesitant to trust them. The authors designed a system that explains these AI models by showing which brainwave sensors and time points matter, as well as why certain brainwave frequencies influence decisions. They also use large language models to turn these technical insights into easy-to-understand language. Their tests show the explanations match known brain activity patterns and uncover some reliance on irrelevant signals. This framework helps make brain AI tools more trustworthy and interpretable.
Open 2609.15687v1