Computational Infrastructure for Brain Research: EAGER: BrainLab CI: Collaborative, Community Experiments with Data-Quality Controls through Continuous Integration

大脑研究界需要增加共享和组合数据集的实践，以增加统计分析的能力，并从收集的数据中获得最多的知识。该项目旨在建立一个名为BrainLab CI的原型系统，该系统将促进数千个公开可用的磁共振成像（MRI）和神经生理学数据集的有意义整合，并允许研究人员在这些数据上定义和进行新的大规模社区级实验。通过克服数据共享的主要障碍，BrainLab CI有可能改变神经科学的研究实践：科学家将能够在不失去对数据质量控制的情况下共享数据，并将保持对所有后续实验如何使用他们的数据和算法的完全可见性。通过鼓励数据共享和开发通用分析工具，并通过连接思想、工具、数据和人员来加速发现，该项目可能最终推动科学文化的变革。因此，该项目符合美国国家科学基金会促进科学进步和促进国家健康、繁荣和福利的使命。BrainLab CI原型系统将为不同分析方法的结合、原始数据的荟萃分析、不同实验室结果的比较，甚至通过不同研究的结合，合成新的实验提供新的范式。将部署一个实验管理软件系统，允许用户构建社区范围的实验，对数据的包含和排除实施数据和元数据控制。控制的例子包括：需要特定的元数据，将数据注册到给定的地图集，或使用特定的实验方案收集数据。BrainLab CI最初将专注于两种不同的实验模式：(1)增量实验定义了针对现有数据集的实验，然后向其他社区贡献的数据开放；(2)衍生实验是现有实验的分叉/分支，允许研究人员更改属性，例如接受标准或分析算法，但除此之外，对相同的输入运行相同的管道。该系统将允许每个实验维护在线仪表板，显示额外的数据如何在完整的来源下改变结果。为了开发和验证BrainLab CI原型，将为MRI和神经生理学（包括光学和电生理学）数据开发几个社区实验。选择这些研究领域是因为在这些领域中增加实验室数据共享的巨大潜在收益。这个由CISE高级网络基础设施部门颁发的探索性研究早期概念奖（EAGER）由SBE行为和认知科学部联合支持，与NSF理解大脑活动相关的资金，包括发展国家神经科学研究基础设施，并与国家战略计算计划下的NSF目标保持一致。

The brain research community needs to increase the practice of sharing and combining data sets to increase the power of statistical analyses and to gain the most knowledge from collected data. This project aims to build a prototype system called BrainLab CI that will facilitate meaningful integration of thousands of publicly available Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and neurophysiology data sets, and allow researchers to define and conduct new large-scale community-level experiments on these data. BrainLab CI has the potential to transform research practice in neuroscience by overcoming major obstacles to data sharing: Scientists will be able to share data without losing control over data quality, and will maintain full visibility into how all subsequent experiments use their data and algorithms. This project may consequently drive a change in scientific culture by encouraging data sharing and the development of common analysis tools, and resulting accelerated discovery from connecting ideas, tools, data, and people. This project therefore aligns with the NSF mission to promote the progress of science and to advance the national health, prosperity and welfare. The BrainLab CI prototype system will provide new paradigms for combining different analytic methods, meta-analysis with raw data, comparing the results of different laboratories and even synthesizing new experiments by combining different studies. An experimental-management software system will be deployed that allows users to construct community-wide experiments that implement data and metadata controls on the inclusion and exclusion of data. Example of controls include: requiring specific metadata, that data are registered to a given atlas, or that data are collected using specific experimentation protocols. BrainLab CI will initially focus on two different experimental patterns: (1) An incremental experiment defines an experiment against an existing data set which then opens to additional community contributions of data; and (2) a derived experiment forks/branches an existing experiment, allowing a researcher to change properties, such as an acceptance criteria or analysis algorithm, but otherwise run the same pipeline against the same inputs. The system will allow each experiment to maintain online dashboards showing how additional data changes results with complete provenance. To develop and validate the BrainLab CI prototype, several community experiments will be developed for MRI and for neurophysiology (including both optical and electrical physiology) data. These research domains were chosen because of the great potential gains for increased sharing of laboratory data in these domains. This Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) award by the CISE Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the SBE Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, with funds associated with the NSF Understanding the Brain activity including for developing national research infrastructure for neuroscience, and alignment with NSF objectives under the National Strategic Computing Initiative.