Economics Theory Provides Insight to Neurological Conditions

Summary: The Granger causality is an economic theory used for determining whether links in events are coincidence or influenced from the events and processes. Research has shown that this economic theory can be used to better understand the influences of different parts of the brain. They used the frontoparietal cortex and the visual cortex, and used the Granger causality to determine that the frontoparietal cortex influences the visual cortex.

Comment: Researchers have been using MRI's to study the influences in the brain, but this method can only show results every two seconds, which can be too slow to see the influences. The Granger causality can be used to improve studies of brain functions and influences, and can also be used to determine the affects of lesions in certain brain areas. This method could help researchers develop better treatments for neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Read article - Science Daily October 11, 2008