# Towards Generalizable Learning Models for EEG-Based Identification of Pain Perception

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.11691 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.11691/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 7 of its 20 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 12 Aug 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [EEGNet: A Compact Convolutional Network for EEG-based Brain-Computer Interfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.08024/) (2016)
- [Deep learning-based electroencephalography analysis: a systematic review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.05498/) (2019)
- [The largest EEG-based BCI reproducibility study for open science: the MOABB benchmark](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.15319/) (2024)
- [Self-supervised Learning for Electroencephalogram: A Systematic Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.05446/) (2024)
- [Toward cross-subject and cross-session generalization in EEG-based emotion recognition: Systematic review, taxonomy, and methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.08744/) (2022)
- [Towards Domain Generalization for ECG and EEG Classification: Algorithms and Benchmarks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.11338/) (2023)
- [Riemannian classification of EEG signals with missing values](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.10011/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

EEG-based analysis of pain perception, enhanced by machine learning, reveals how the brain encodes pain by identifying neural patterns evoked by noxious stimulation. However, a major challenge that remains is the generalization of machine learning models across individuals, given the high cross-participant variability inherent to EEG signals and the limited focus on direct pain perception identification in current research. In this study, we systematically evaluate the performance of cross-participant generalization of a wide range of models, including traditional classifiers and deep neural classifiers for identifying the sensory modality of thermal pain and aversive auditory stimulation from EEG recordings. Using a novel dataset of EEG recordings from 108 participants, we benchmark model performance under both within- and cross-participant evaluation settings. Our findings show that traditional models suffered the largest drop from within- to cross-participant performance, while deep learning models proved more resilient, underscoring their potential for subject-invariant EEG decoding. Even though performance variability remained high, the strong results of the graph-based model highlight its potential to capture subject-invariant structure in EEG signals. On the other hand, we also share the preprocessed dataset used in this study, providing a standardized benchmark for evaluating future algorithms under the same generalization constraints.