A high-precision synchronization and centroid-based framework for single-trial decoding of perceived natural speech

Decoding natural speech from EEG is constrained by low signal-to-noise ratios, commonly addressed through event-related potential (ERP) grand averaging. However, this approach acts as a low-pass filter, obscuring trial-to-trial variability and high-frequency neural dynamics. To overcome these limitations, we propose an open-box, FPGA-synchronized framework for single-trial EEG analysis of Spanish vowels (/a/, /i/, /u/). The proposed architecture enforces sub-millisecond hardware determinism, eliminating software-induced temporal jitter and enabling robust extraction of high-frequency oscillatory features, including the Gamma band, without relying on averaged ERPs. This synchronization framework facilitates the separation of early exogenous sensory responses from late endogenous cognitive processing, while comprehensive ablation studies were performed to evaluate the effect of software-induced jitter on decoding performance. Results showed that introducing simulated jitter degraded classification performance to theoretical chance levels (33.20%), confirming hardware synchronization as a strict prerequisite for reliable single-trial decoding. The framework was further validated using a Centroid-PCA-SVM pipeline operating on a 16-channel spatial subset. Using the full proposed architecture, a grand mean classification accuracy of 67.70% was achieved, substantially exceeding the theoretical chance level of 33.33%. The across-participant mean of the maximum fold accuracies reached 83.00%, with individual validation folds achieving up to 90.00%. In contrast, zero-calibration leave-one-subject-out (LOSO) generalization remained at chance level (33.08%; κ pooled = −0.0036), indicating limited cross-participant transferability and highlighting the current need for participant-specific calibration or alignment. Overall, these findings demonstrate that hardware-deterministic EEG acquisition enables the recovery of robust trial-by-trial brain dynamics that are typically obscured by conventional averaging approaches. By combining precise synchronization with low-latency algorithmic inference, the proposed framework establishes a foundation for real-time neural decoding and represents a stepping stone for practical brain-computer interfaces and advanced clinical monitoring applications.