NEW YORK, NY (September 27, 2018) -An international team of researchers led by scientists at the Child Mind Institute has released the first open-source data sets of non-human primate brain imaging. In a new study, An Open Resource for Non-human Primate Imaging published in the journal Neuron, the researchers present details about the rationale, design, and procedures for the PRIMatE Data Exchange (PRIME-DE) consortium, an open science resource for the neuroimaging community that aims to aggregate and share anatomical, functional and diffusion MRI data sets from laboratories around the world. The goal is to accelerate the development of a map of the neural connections in the non-human primate brain -- and, ultimately, the human brain -- in an effort to develop biomarkers for mental health disorders and other brain disorders and diseases.
The consortium, led by Michael P. Milham, MD, PhD, the Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Scholar and vice president of research at the Child Mind Institute alongside Charles Schroeder (Columbia University) and Daniel Margulies (ICM and Max Planck Institute), presents details of 25 independent data collections aggregated across 22 sites. The study also outlines the unique pitfalls and challenges that should be considered in the analysis of the non-human primate MRI datasets, including providing automated quality assessment of the contributed datasets.
"This is a rapidly growing and extremely promising area of neuroscience research that suffers from a lack of data," said Dr. Milham. "The PRIMatE Data Exchange is an effort to encourage and enable the independent collection and sharing of brain imaging data through the International Neuroimaging Data-Sharing Initiative (INDI). The ultimate goal is to accelerate research that improves our understanding of how the human brain works and translates that understanding into enhanced methods for the diagnosis and treatment of a range of brain disorders."
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About the Child Mind Institute
The Child Mind Institute is an independent, national nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders. Our teams work every day to deliver the highest standards of care, advance the science of the developing brain, and empower parents, professionals and policymakers to support children when and where they need it most. Together with our supporters, we're helping children reach their full potential in school and in life. We share all of our resources freely and do not accept any funding from the pharmaceutical industry. Learn more at childmind.org.
Journal
Neuron