Classification of Meditation EEG Signals Using Empirical Wavelet Transform and Atom Search Optimization-Based Feature Selection
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, ST.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Electrical Engineering, ST.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
- Research Center of Modeling and Optimization in Science and Engineering, ST.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Electrical Engineering, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Received: 2025-12-08
Revised: 2026-02-02
Accepted: 2026-02-19
Published in Issue 2026-03-31
Copyright (c) 2026 Elham Simakani, Iman Ahanian, Mahdi Eslami, Amir Amirabadi (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
PDF views: 5
Abstract
Analysis of the electroencephalogram (EEG) is a significant technique for deciphering brain activity during meditation; nonetheless, the proper classification of EEG signals is challenging due to the existence of noise, high dimensionality, and overlapping components. In order to alleviate the above pitfalls, the current work presents a novel framework consisting of Empirical Wavelet Transform (EWT) for adaptive sub-band decomposition and Atom Search Optimization (ASO) for optimal selection of features. EEG signals were decomposed into five standard frequency bands using the application of wavelets from the EWT,and eight statistical features were extracted from each band. ASO was also utilized for the selection of the most discriminative features and the compression of dimensionality while preserving the important information. The extracted features underwent classification with various machine learning models consisting of Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Decision Tree, and Random Forest. Experimental results validated that SVM in combination with the compression of features produced the greatest accuracy of classification (95%), higher than baseline methods lacking a selection of features and state-of-the-art methods tied in performance. The outcomes indicate that the above technique increases both the accuracy of classification and the speed of computation and is thus appropriate for practical applications such as brain interfaces and state monitoring during meditation. The innovation of the work consists of the combination of adaptive signal decomposition and optimal selection of features to advance the performance of classification according to EEG.
Keywords
- EEG,
- Empirical Wavelet Transform,
- Machine Learning,
- Feature Extraction,
- Meditation
References
- Y.u, Y., & Huang, Z. (2022). Mental state identification based on the classification of EEG signals. In 2022 15th International Congress on Image and Signal Processing, Biomedical Engineering and Informatics (CISP-BMEI) (pp. 1–6). IEEE. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/CISP-BMEI56279.2022.9980282
- Khare, S. K., et al. (2023). Ensemble wavelet decomposition-based detection of mental states using electroencephalography signals. Sensors, 23(18), 7860. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s23187860
- Khare, S. K., et al. (2022). Classification of mental states from rational dilation wavelet transform and bagged tree classifier using EEG signals. In Artificial Intelligence-Based Brain-Computer Interface (pp. 217–235). Academic Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91197-9.00014-X
- Kit, N. K., Amin, H. U., & Subhani, A. R. (2022). Discrete wavelet transform based EEG feature extraction and classification for mental stress using machine learning classifiers. In 2022 IEEE International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Engineering and Technology (IICAIET) (pp. 1–6). IEEE. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/IICAIET55139.2022.9936800
- Kaur, K., & Khan, P. (2023). Temporal-domain analysis of meditation and mind-wandering EEG signals for different meditation traditions. In 2023 7th International Conference on Computer Applications in Electrical Engineering-Recent Advances (CERA) (pp. 1–6). IEEE. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/CERA59325.2023.10455199
- Tang, S., & Li, Z. (2024). EEG complexity measures for detecting mind wandering during video-based learning. Scientific Reports, 14(1),8209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58889-9
- Martel, A., et al. (2023). Distinct electrophysiological signatures of intentional and unintentional mind-wandering revealed by low-frequency EEG markers. bioRxiv. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.21.533634
- OpenNeuro. ''EEG meditation and mind-wandering (Version 1.1.0)[Dataset],''OpenNeuro,2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18112/openneuro.ds001787.v1.1.0
- Al-Qaysi, Z. T., Al-Saegh, A., Hussein, A. F., & Ahmed, M. A. (2023). Wavelet-based hybrid learning framework for motor imagery classification. Iraqi Journal for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 19(1), 47–57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37917/ijeee.19.1.6
- Gilles, J. (2013). Empirical wavelet transform. IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, 61(16), 3999–4010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TSP.2013.2265222
- Nayak, A. B., Shah, A., Maheshwari, S., Anand, V., Chakraborty, S., & Kumar, T. S. (2024). An empirical wavelet transform-based approach for motion artifact removal in electroencephalogram signals. Decision Analytics Journal, 10, 100420. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daj.2024.100420
- Al-Qazzaz, N. K., Aldoori, A. A., Ali, S. H. B. M., Ahmad, S. A., Mohammed, A. K., & Mohyee, M. I. (2023). EEG signal complexity measurements to enhance BCI-based stroke patients’ rehabilitation.Sensors,23(8),3889. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s23083889
- Zhao, W., Wang, L., & Zhang, Z. (2019). Atom search optimization and its application to solve a hydrogeological parameter estimation problem. Knowledge-Based Systems, 163, 283–304. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knosys.2018.08.030
- Mohapatra, S. K., & Patnaik, S. (2022). ESA-ASO: An enhanced search ability based atom search optimization algorithm for epileptic seizure detection. Measurement: Sensors, 24, 100519. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measen.2022.100519.
- Geng, X., Wang, L., Yu, P., Hu, W., Liang, Q., Zhang, X., Chen, C., & Zhang, X. (2025). A method of EEG signal feature extraction based on hybrid DWT and EMD. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 113, 195–204. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2025.02.003
- Gopala Gowda, M. B., Boraiah, N. K., Eshappa, V., & Chandrashekara, G. (2023). Classification of epileptic EEG signals using improved atomic search optimization algorithm. International Journal of Intelligent Engineering and Systems, 16(6), 134–145. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22266/ijies2023.1231.12
- Fulpatil, P., & Meshram, Y. (2014). Analysis of EEG signals with the effect of meditation. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), 3(6), June 2014. ISSN: 2278-0181.
10.57647/spre.2026.1001.06