Work

A Novel Demographic Indicator Fusion Network (DIFNet) for Dynamic Fusion of EEG and Demographic Indicators for Robust Depression Detection

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Electroencephalography (EEG) has proven to be effective for detecting major depressive disorder (MDD), with deep learning models further advancing its potential. However, the performance of these models may be limited by their neglect of demographic factors (e.g., age, sex, and education), which are known to influence EEG characteristics of depression. To address this, we propose DIFNet, a deep learning framework that dynamically fuses EEG features with demographic indicators (age, sex, and years of education) to enhance depression recognition accuracy. DIFNet is composed of four modules: a multiscale convolutional module, a Transformer encoder module, a temporal convolutional network (TCN) module, and a demographic indicator fusion module. The fusion model leverages convolution to process demographic vectors and integrates them with spatiotemporal EEG features, thereby embedding demographic indicators within the deep learning model for classification. Cross-validation between data trials showed that the DIFNet fusing age and years of education achieves a superior accuracy of 99.66%; the dynamic fusion mechanism improves accuracy by 0.72% compared to the baseline without fusing demographic indicators (98.94%), outperforming state-of-the-art methods (SparNet 94.37% and DBGCN 98.30%).

Source: Sensors

DOI: 10.3390/s25216549

Authors: Chaoliang Wang, Qingshu Zhou, Mengfan Li, Jiaxin Li, Jing Zhao

Institutions: Yanshan University, Hebei University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Emotion and Mood Recognition

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137