Technical Note
The BrainMap strategy for standardization, sharing, and meta-analysis of neuroimaging data
1 Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA
2 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
3 Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM - 2), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
4 Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX, USA
5 Scott & White Memorial Hospital, Neuroscience Institute, Temple, TX, USA
6 Texas A&M Health Science Center, College of Medicine, Temple, TX, USA
7 The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, USA
8 Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
BMC Research Notes 2011, 4:349 doi:10.1186/1756-0500-4-349
Published: 9 September 2011Abstract
Background
Neuroimaging researchers have developed rigorous community data and metadata standards that encourage meta-analysis as a method for establishing robust and meaningful convergence of knowledge of human brain structure and function. Capitalizing on these standards, the BrainMap project offers databases, software applications, and other associated tools for supporting and promoting quantitative coordinate-based meta-analysis of the structural and functional neuroimaging literature.
Findings
In this report, we describe recent technical updates to the project and provide an educational description for performing meta-analyses in the BrainMap environment.
Conclusions
The BrainMap project will continue to evolve in response to the meta-analytic needs of biomedical researchers in the structural and functional neuroimaging communities. Future work on the BrainMap project regarding software and hardware advances are also discussed.
