Guide to choosing a Behavior And Theory dataset

Guide to choosing a Behavior And Theory dataset#

The behavior and theory datasets and project templates are combined into the same topic. They range from projects focused on data analysis (i.e. the Caltech dataset) to pure theory projects where you implement and study a model like a recurrent neural network. Scroll down to see the project templates.

Pure theory projects are usually pursued by more advanced students. If your group is relatively new to neuroscience, you should consider doing a dataset or behavior project and include a theory component to it.

Every group can bring up and discuss theory projects. We have several example project templates for this that include code. However, a theory project can go in any direction.

Caltech#

The Caltech dataset (youtube) has pose-tracking data from socially-interacting mice, and is well supported with code and a project template.

Credit for data curation: Ann Kennedy

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Loader notebook

IBL#

The IBL dataset (youtube) is a visual decision-making task, that is very similar to the one used in the Steinmetz dataset.

Credit for data curation: Eric DeWitt and the IBL team

This notebook is currently available:

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Psychometric notebook

These will be available next week:

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Exploration notebook
Psychometric notebook
Additional analyses

Laquitaine & Gardner, Neuron, 2017#

The Laquitaine & Gardner dataset contains behavioral data collected in a motion direction estimation task performed by 12 human subjects. The data include motion direction estimates, reaction times and various task variables recorded for 83,214 trials. The authors varied the strength of sensory evidence (motion coherence) and priors (set of directions) and compared the trial-estimate distribution with the predictions of Bayesian observer models.

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Loader & Exploration notebook
Additional analyses

Working memory#

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Working memory

Motor RNN#

We built on Feulner & Clopath, Plos Computational Biology, 2021 to propose this project. Here we explore how RNN representation dynamics is linked with connectivity structure and task complexity.

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Motor RNN

Databases of models#

Here is a list of cool databases you might want to use to look for existing models, computational analyses / data processing tools and data.

Name	Model?	Analyses?	Data?	Description
BioModels	:+1:			BioModels is a repository of mathematical models of biological and biomedical systems. It hosts a vast selection of existing literature-based physiologically and pharmaceutically relevant mechanistic models in standard formats.
ModelDB	:+1:			ModelDB provides an accessible location for storing and efficiently retrieving computational neuroscience models. A ModelDB entry contains a model’s source code, concise description, and a citation of the article that published it.
Open Source Brain	:+1:			Open Source Brain is a resource for sharing and collaboratively developing computational models of neural systems.
CRCNS	:+1:	:+1:	:+1:	CRCNS Data sharing website is a marketplace and discussion forum for sharing tools and data in neuroscience
EEGbase		:+1:	:+1:	EEGbase is a system for storage, management, sharing and retrieval of EEG/ERP data, metadata, tools and documents related to electrophysiology.
INCF resources	:+1:	:+1:	:+1:	A list of resources endorsed by INCF.
NITRC	:+1:	:+1:	:+1:	NeuroImaging Tools & Resources Collaboratory is an award-winning free web-based resource that offers comprehensive information on an ever expanding scope of neuroinformatics software and data.

Additional resources#

Name	Description
figshare	A database of everything research related that’s openly shared
Google Dataset search	Lets you do a Google search specifically to find datasets
NeuroVault	A public repository of unthresholded statistical maps, parcellations, and atlases of the brain. (MRI and PET)
KnowledgeSpace	A globally-used, community-based, data-driven encyclopedia for neuroscience that links brain research concepts to data, models, and the literature that support them.