Computational models provide a framework for integrating data across spatial scales and for exploring hypotheses about the biological mechanisms underlying neuronal and network dynamics. However, as models increase in complexity, additional barriers emerge to the creation, exchange, and re-use of models. Successful projects have created standards for describing complex models in neuroscience and provide open source tools to address these issues. This lecture provides an overview of these projects and make a case for expanded use of resources in support of reproducibility and validation of models against experimental data.

KnowledgeSpace is a community-based encyclopedia that links brain research concepts to data, models, and literature. It provides users with access to anatomy, gene expression, models, morphology, and physiology data from over 15 different neuroscience data/model repositories, such as Allen Institute for Brain Science and the Human Brain Project.

The Identifiers.org system is a central infrastructure for findable, accessible, interoperable and re-usable (FAIR) data. It provides a range of services to generate, resolve and validate persistent Compact Identifiers to promote the citability of individual data providers and integration with e-infrastructures.

Introduction to the FAIR Principles and examples of applications of the FAIR Principles in neuroscience. This lecture was part of the 2019 Neurohackademy, a 2-week hands-on summer institute in neuroimaging and data science held at the University of Washington eScience Institute.

Enabling neuroscience research using high performance computing

Neuronify is an educational tool meant to create intuition for how neurons and neural networks behave. You can use it to combine neurons with different connections, just like the ones we have in our brain, and explore how changes on single cells lead to behavioral changes in important networks. Neuronify is based on an integrate-and-fire model of neurons. This is one of the simplest models of neurons that exist. It focuses on the spike timing of a neuron and ignores the details of the action potential dynamics. These neurons are modeled as simple RC circuits. When the membrane potential is above a certain threshold, a spike is generated and the voltage is reset to its resting potential. This spike then signals other neurons through its synapses.

Neuronify aims to provide a low entry point to simulation-based neuroscience.

Introduction to reproducible research. The lecture provides an overview of the core skills and practical solutions required to practice reproducible research. This lecture was part of the 2018 Neurohackademy, a 2-week hands-on summer institute in neuroimaging and data science held at the University of Washington eScience Institute.

This lecture was part of the 2019 Neurohackademy, a 2-week hands-on summer institute in neuroimaging and data science held at the University of Washington eScience Institute.

This lecture was part of the 2019 Neurohackademy, a 2-week hands-on summer institute in neuroimaging and data science held at the University of Washington eScience Institute.

EyeWire is a game to map the brain. Players are challenged to map branches of a neuron from one side of a cube to the other in a 3D puzzle. Players scroll through the cube and reconstruct neurons with the help of an artificial intelligence algorithm developed at Seung Lab in Princeton University. EyeWire gameplay advances neuroscience by helping researchers discover how neurons connect to process visual information. 

Mozak is a scientific discovery game about neuroscience for citizen scientists and neuroscientists alike. Players to help neuroscientists build models of brain cells and learn more about the brain through their efforts.

GeneWeaver is a web application for the integrated cross-species analysis of functional genomics data to find convergent evidence from heterogeneous sources. The application consists of a large database of gene sets curated from multiple public data resources and curated submissions, along with a suite of analysis tools designed to allow flexible, customized workflows through web-based interactive analysis or scripted API driven analysis. Gene sets come from multiple widely studied species and include ontology annotations, brain gene expression atlases, systems genetic study results, gene regulatory information, pathway databases, drug interaction databases and many other sources. Users can retrieve, store, analyze and share gene sets through a graded access system. Analysis tools are based on combinatorics and statistical methods for comparing, contrasting, and classifying gene sets based on their members.

GeneWeaver is a web application for the integrated cross-species analysis of functional genomics data to find convergent evidence from heterogeneous sources. The application consists of a large database of gene sets curated from multiple public data resources and curated submissions, along with a suite of analysis tools designed to allow flexible, customized workflows through web-based interactive analysis or scripted API driven analysis. Gene sets come from multiple widely studied species and include ontology annotations, brain gene expression atlases, systems genetic study results, gene regulatory information, pathway databases, drug interaction databases and many other sources. Users can retrieve, store, analyze and share gene sets through a graded access system. Analysis tools are based on combinatorics and statistical methods for comparing, contrasting and classifying gene sets based on their members.

This tutorial shows how to use the UCSC genome browser to find a list of genes in a given genomic region.

This tutorial shows how to find all the single nucleotide polymorphisms upstream from genes using the UCSC Genome Browser.

This tutorial demonstrates how to find all the single nucleotide polymorphisms in a gene using the UCSC Genome Browser.

The Saved Sessions feature of the Browser has been around for quite some time, but many of our users have not made full use of it. It offers a great way to keep track of your thinking on a particular topic.

This tutorial demonstrates the visibility controls on the Genome Browser, showing the affect on BED tracks, wiggle tracks and Conservation tracks. It also discusses supertracks and composite tracks.