Cognitive Energy Modeling for Neuroadaptive Human-Machine Systems using EEG and WGAN-GP

TL;DR

This paper introduces a framework using EEG and generative models to accurately estimate cognitive energy costs of brain state transitions, enabling real-time neuroadaptive human-machine systems.

Contribution

It demonstrates that GAN-generated EEG preserves the dynamical structure necessary for energy-based modeling of cognitive transitions using the Schrödinger Bridge Problem.

Findings

Synthetic EEG maintains transition energy structure comparable to real EEG.

SBP-derived energy metrics effectively differentiate cognitive states during Stroop tasks.

The framework supports real-time adaptive control in human-machine systems.

Abstract

Electroencephalography (EEG) provides a non-invasive insight into the brain's cognitive and emotional dynamics. However, modeling how these states evolve in real time and quantifying the energy required for such transitions remains a major challenge. The Schr\"odinger Bridge Problem (SBP) offers a principled probabilistic framework to model the most efficient evolution between the brain states, interpreted as a measure of cognitive energy cost. While generative models such as GANs have been widely used to augment EEG data, it remains unclear whether synthetic EEG preserves the underlying dynamical structure required for transition-based analysis. In this work, we address this gap by using SBP-derived transport cost as a metric to evaluate whether GAN-generated EEG retains the distributional geometry necessary for energy-based modeling of cognitive state transitions. We compare transition energies derived from real and synthetic EEG collected during Stroop tasks and demonstrate strong agreement across group and participant-level analyses. These results indicate that synthetic EEG preserves the transition structure required for SBP-based modeling, enabling its use in data-efficient neuroadaptive systems. We further present a framework in which SBP-derived cognitive energy serves as a control signal for adaptive human-machine systems, supporting real-time adjustment of system behavior in response to user cognitive and affective state.