SENSELAB: INTEGRATION OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY SENSORY DATA

描述(申请人摘要)：在神经科学中，与神经元属性--受体、通道和神经递质--相关的实验数据的产生目前远远超过了以深入了解大脑功能的神经基础的方式存档、分析和整合这些数据的手段。为此目的开发新一代复杂的数据库和信息学工具的需求日益迫切。嗅觉系统是解决这些问题的一个有吸引力的模式，因此我们为此设立了一个名为SenseLab的试点项目。在过去的六年里，这一试验项目的进展导致了几种类型的网络可访问的数据库和工具，以加强我们在嗅觉系统方面的工作。这些包括：嗅觉受体数据库(ORDB)，用于未公布和已公布的序列数据，帮助嗅觉领域克隆和测序嗅觉受体基因的非常大的基因家族；气味数据库(OdorDB)，用于测试表达系统中的受体亲和力；NeuronDB，受体、通道和神经递质属性数据库，帮助整合不同类型神经元的不同隔室中的这些数据，并允许搜索不同类型神经元的特定属性；以及ModelDB，神经元模型数据库。这些数据库和工具的进一步开发需要加强努力，需要将当前的单个项目扩展为本方案项目支持的三个平行项目。项目1将使用现有的数据库和几个新的数据库，在嗅觉通路的几个水平上测试关于嗅觉功能的具体假设。项目2将致力于基础信息学研究，以完善现有的数据库和工具，并开发新的数据库和工具。项目3将侧重于应用建模方法来分析特定类型的神经元整合，并开发模型数据库，用于更广泛地测试网络的神经元模型。自动数据库条目链接到神经细胞属性的期刊发表将被探索。核心将提供行政和方案编制支助。这些数据库和工具将加强对感觉神经机制的理解。它们将推广到其他系统，为整合和搜索神经科学数据提供更广泛使用的工具。

DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Abstract): In the neurosciences, the generation of experimental data relating to neuronal properties - receptors, channels and neurotransmitters - currently far exceeds the means for archiving, analyzing and integrating these data in ways that give insight into the neural basis of brain function. There is an increasingly urgent need to develop a new generation of sophisticated databases and informatics tools for this purpose. The olfactory system is an attractive model for attacking these problems, and we have therefore set up a pilot project entitled SenseLab for this purpose. Over the past six years, progress in this pilot project has led to several types of web accessible databases and tools to enhance our work on the olfactory system. These include: Olfactory Receptor Database (ORDB), for unpublished as well as published sequence data, to aid the effort in the olfactory field to clone and sequence the very large gene family of olfactory receptor genes; Odor Database (OdorDB), a database of odor molecules used to test for receptor affinities in expression systems; NeuronDB, a database of receptor, channel and neurotransmitter properties, to aid in the integration of these data in different compartments of different types of neurons, and to allow searches for specific properties across different neuron types; and ModelDB, a database of neuronal models. Further development of these databases and tools requires an enhanced effort in which single current project needs to be expanded into three parallel projects supported by this Program Project. Project 1 will test specific hypotheses regarding olfactory function at several levels of the olfactory pathway, using current databases and several new databases. Project 2 will be devoted to fundamental informatics research to refine current databases and tools and develop new ones. Project 3 will focus on applying modeling methods to analyzing specific types of neuronal integration, and developing model databases for wider testing of neuronal models of the web. Automated database entry linked to journal publication of neuronal properties will be explored. A Core will provide administrative and programming support. These databases and tools will enhance the understanding of neural mechanisms in sensation. They will be generalizable to other systems, to provide tools of wider use for integrating and searching neuroscientific data.