Inferring causality in brain images: a perturbation approach
Open Access
- 29 May 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by The Royal Society in Philosophical Transactions B
- Vol. 360 (1457), 1109-1114
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2005.1652
Abstract
When engaged by a stimulus, different nodes of a neural circuit respond in a coordinated fashion. We often ask whether there is a cause and effect in such interregional interactions. This paper proposes that we can infer causality in functional connectivity by employing a ‘perturb and measure’ approach. In the human brain, this has been achieved by combining transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging or electroencephalography. Here, I will illustrate this approach by reviewing some of our TMS/PET work, and will conclude by discussing a few methodological and theoretical challenges facing those studying neural connectivity using a perturbation.Keywords
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