Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Application of Granger Causality Analysis of the Directed Functional Connection in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: August 7, 2017
Solved problems for Granger causality in neuroscience: A response to Stokes and Purdon
Lionel Barnett1, Adam B Barrett1, Anil K Seth1
1Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science and Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QJ, UK.
Abstract:
Granger-Geweke causality (GGC) is a powerful and popular method for identifying directed functional ('causal') connectivity in neuroscience. In a recent paper, Stokes and Purdon (2017b) raise several concerns about its use. They make two primary claims: (1) that GGC estimates may be severely biased or of high variance, and (2) that GGC fails to reveal the full structural/causal mechanisms of a system. However, these claims rest, respectively, on an incomplete evaluation of the literature, and a misconception about what GGC can be said to measure. Here we explain how existing approaches resolve the first issue, and discuss the frequently-misunderstood distinction between functional and effective neural connectivity which underlies Stokes and Purdon's second claim.
Related Concept Videos
Causality in Epidemiology
Stokes' Law
The expression for the force on a solid spherical object in a fluid is called Stokes' law. Stokes' law is valid only...
Divergence and Stokes' Theorems
Navier–Stokes Equations
Criteria for Causality: Bradford Hill Criteria - II
Criteria for Causality: Bradford Hill Criteria - I

