{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T05:02:00Z","timestamp":1784523720418,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784505600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Early detection of neurodegenerative diseases is critical. Distinguishing early-stage Creutzfeldt\u2013Jakob disease (CJD) from \u201cmimics\u201d like Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a major challenge; while EEG is valuable in advanced CJD, early-stage abnormalities are often non-specific and overlap with other rapidly progressive dementias. Deep learning offers promising EEG-based diagnostic solutions, but clinical adoption requires transparent decision-making, the interpretability of the features learned by deep learning models is equally important. In this context, careful model design and explainability are essential. In this paper, we propose a novel interpretable framework,\n                    <jats:italic>EEGDecoder-x<\/jats:italic>\n                    , for decoding EEG signals from subjects with Alzheimer's disease, Creutzfeldt\u2013Jakob disease, and healthy controls, while providing insight into the model's learned characteristics. The EEGDecoder-x framework comprises two main components: a hybrid attention network for disease decoding (\n                    <jats:italic>EEGDecoder-Net<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) and an explainability module (\n                    <jats:italic>EEGDecoder-XAI<\/jats:italic>\n                    ). EEGDecoder-Net combines a convolutional neural network with a dual attention mechanism, followed by a classification layer, enabling efficient spatio-temporal feature extraction. EEGDecoder-XAI provides a comprehensive local and global explanations of the network's learning process for spatio-temporal dimensions. We validate the proposed framework using a Leave-One-Subject-Out evaluation paradigm, achieving\n                    <jats:italic>97.22% classification accuracy<\/jats:italic>\n                    on a dataset of 36 subjects (12 with AD, 12 with CJD, and 12 healthy controls), and outperforming the baseline models, demonstrating both the effectiveness and interpretability of EEGDecoder-x.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2026.1851752","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T04:20:30Z","timestamp":1784521230000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["EEGDecoder-x: an explainable deep learning framework for cross-subject EEG-based detection of Alzheimer's and Creutzfeldt\u2013Jakob disease"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Muhammad","family":"Suffian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"DICEAM, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria","place":["Reggio Calabria, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nadia","family":"Mammone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"DICEAM, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria","place":["Reggio Calabria, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cosimo","family":"Ieracitano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"DICMaPI, University of Naples \u201cFederico II\u201d","place":["Naples, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanbattista Gaspare","family":"Tripodi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurology Unit, Great Metropolitan \u201cBianchi-Melacrino-Morelli\u201d Hospital","place":["Reggio Calabria, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Angelo","family":"Pascarella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Gr\u00e6cia University of Catanzaro","place":["Catanazaro, Italy"]},{"name":"Regional Epilepsy Centre, Great Metropolitan \u201cBianchi-Melacrino-Morelli\u201d Hospital","place":["Reggio Calabria, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edoardo","family":"Ferlazzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Gr\u00e6cia University of Catanzaro","place":["Catanazaro, Italy"]},{"name":"Regional Epilepsy Centre, Great Metropolitan \u201cBianchi-Melacrino-Morelli\u201d Hospital","place":["Reggio Calabria, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco Carlo","family":"Morabito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"DICEAM, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria","place":["Reggio Calabria, 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