# RECTOR: Masked Region-Channel-Temporal Modeling for Affective and Cognitive Representation Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.15278 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.15278/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 24 of its 62 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 Jun 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [Grad-CAM: Visual Explanations from Deep Networks via Gradient-based Localization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.02391/) (2016)
- [RoFormer: Enhanced Transformer with Rotary Position Embedding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.09864/) (2021)
- [Outrageously Large Neural Networks: The Sparsely-Gated Mixture-of-Experts Layer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1701.06538/) (2017)
- [GLU Variants Improve Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.05202/) (2020)
- [Self-Supervised Learning from Images with a Joint-Embedding Predictive Architecture](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.08243/) (2023)
- [A Generalization of Transformer Networks to Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.09699/) (2020)
- [Large Brain Model for Learning Generic Representations with Tremendous EEG Data in BCI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.18765/) (2024)
- [CBraMod: A Criss-Cross Brain Foundation Model for EEG Decoding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.07236/) (2024)
- [BrainBERT: Self-supervised representation learning for intracranial recordings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.14367/) (2023)
- [MAEEG: Masked Auto-encoder for EEG Representation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.02625/) (2022)
- [CSBrain: A Cross-scale Spatiotemporal Brain Foundation Model for EEG Decoding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.23075/) (2025)
- [TSception: Capturing Temporal Dynamics and Spatial Asymmetry from EEG for Emotion Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.02935/) (2021)
- [A Novel Bi-hemispheric Discrepancy Model for EEG Emotion Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.01704/) (2019)
- [LGGNet: Learning from Local-Global-Graph Representations for Brain-Computer Interface](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.02786/) (2021)
- [BrainWave: A Brain Signal Foundation Model for Clinical Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.10251/) (2024)
- [Population Transformer: Learning Population-level Representations of Neural Activity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.03044/) (2024)
- [EmT: A Novel Transformer for Generalized Cross-subject EEG Emotion Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.18345/) (2024)
- [Neural decoding from stereotactic EEG: accounting for electrode variability across subjects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.10458/) (2024)
- [PGCN: Pyramidal Graph Convolutional Network for EEG Emotion Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.02520/) (2023)
- [GMSS: Graph-Based Multi-Task Self-Supervised Learning for EEG Emotion Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.01030/) (2022)
- [Du-IN: Discrete units-guided mask modeling for decoding speech from Intracranial Neural signals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.11459/) (2024)
- [MASA-TCN: Multi-anchor Space-aware Temporal Convolutional Neural Networks for Continuous and Discrete EEG Emotion Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.16207/) (2023)
- [BaRISTA: Brain Scale Informed Spatiotemporal Representation of Human Intracranial Neural Activity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.12135/) (2025)
- [Multi-dataset Joint Pre-training of Emotional EEG Enables Generalizable Affective Computing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.22197/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Affective and cognitive disorders manifest as distributed, time-varying brain network dynamics across regions, channels, and time, challenging robust representation learning from EEG/sEEG for clinical diagnosis. We propose RECTOR (Masked Region-Channel-Temporal Modeling), an end-to-end self-supervised framework that unifies joint region-channel-temporal representation learning beyond fixed anatomical priors. At its core, RECTOR-SA is a hierarchical, block-sparse self-attention induced by Adaptive Functional Partitioning that evolves region structures from static anatomical definitions to adaptive functional regions. The self-supervision is driven by Masked Topology and Representation Learning, which jointly optimizes three complementary objectives: Masked Predictive Modeling, Topological Structure Modeling, and Cross-View Consistency. Across diverse benchmarks, RECTOR sets a new state-of-the-art in EEG emotion recognition and sEEG task-engagement classification. Crucially, its strong robustness to missing channels and cross-montage generalization underscores its potential for large-scale pre-training on heterogeneous EEG/sEEG, providing interpretable insights at both region and channel levels.