| name | spider-directed-connectivity |
| description | SPIDER: non-parametric frequency-domain framework for inferring directed effective connectivity from incomplete, asynchronous recordings via stitched power-spectra and spectral factorization. |
| activation | effective connectivity, directed information flow, SPIDER, asynchronous recordings, spectral factorization, Granger causality alternative |
| tags | ["neuroscience","effective-connectivity","signal-processing","spectral-methods"] |
| arxiv_id | 2606.22695 |
| authors | ["Yisi S. Zhang","Daniel Y. Takahashi"] |
SPIDER: Stitched Power-spectra for Directed Information Flow
Problem
Established directed-connectivity methods (Granger causality, DCM, PDC) require simultaneous recordings of all regions with a common clock. Real-world neuroscience data is fragmented: different sessions, animals, and labs sample partially overlapping brain regions without shared temporal reference.
Core Methodology
Non-parametric Frequency-Domain Framework
- Stitching local power-spectra: Combine spectral estimates from overlapping channel subsets into a global spectral matrix
- Canonical spectral factorization: Decompose global spectral matrix to recover directed interactions
- PDC extraction: Derive frequency-resolved directed interactions without temporal alignment
- Nuclear-norm completion: Fill in never-co-observed region pairs via matrix completion
Key Innovation
- No temporal alignment required: Works across asynchronous recordings
- Handles missing data: Nuclear-norm completion infers unobserved pairwise interactions
- Frequency-resolved: Preserves spectral specificity of directed interactions
Activation Triggers
- "effective connectivity from incomplete data"
- "asynchronous neural recordings"
- "directed information flow without common clock"
- "Granger causality alternative for fragmented data"
- "spectral factorization connectivity"
Related Methods
- Granger causality (requires simultaneous recordings)
- Dynamic causal modeling (DCM)
- Partial directed coherence (PDC)
- Transfer entropy
Use Cases
- Cross-session/connectivity studies
- Multi-lab data integration
- Large-scale brain mapping with sparse sampling
- Developmental neuroscience (changing electrode placements)
Reference
Zhang, Y. S., & Takahashi, D. Y. (2026). SPIDER -- Stitched Power-spectra for Inferring Directed information flow from incomplete and asynchronous Experimental Recordings. arXiv:2606.22695
