EEG-TriNet++: A Transformer-Guided Meta-Learning Framework for Robust and Generalizable Motor Imagery Classification

Motor imagery (MI) classification using EEG signals is central to brain-computer interfaces but remains challenging due to low signal-to-noise ratio, non-stationarity, and high inter-subject variability. We introduce EEG-TriNet++, a multi-branch deep learning architecture that enhances both classification accuracy and cross-subject generalization. The model integrates three complementary components: convolutional spatial-spectral encoders for channel-wise and frequency-specific patterns, bidirectional LSTMs to model temporal dynamics, and a Transformer head for global relational reasoning. A patchwise tokenization strategy and neural architecture search optimize the trade-off between efficiency and representational capacity. To address individual differences, a model-agnostic meta-learning (MAML) module enables rapid adaptation to new users with limited data. Evaluated on two public MI datasets under within-subject and leave-one-subject-out (LOSO) protocols, EEG-TriNet++ achieves 79.1% and 78.6% accuracy in within-subject tasks, and 72.4% and 71.3% in LOSO settings. Ablation studies validate the contribution of each module, and comparisons with state-of-the-art methods demonstrate consistent performance gains under identical conditions.