The Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data Center (fMRIDC): the challenges and rewards of large-scale databasing of neuroimaging studies

J. D. Van Horn, J. S. Grethe, P. Kostelec, J. B. Woodward, J. A. Aslam, D. Rus, D. Rockmore, M. S. Gazzaniga
2001 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences  
The Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data Center (fMRIDC) (http://www.fmridc.org) was established in the Autumn of 1999 with the objective of creating a mechanism by which members of the neuroscienti¢c community may more easily share functional neuroimaging data. Examples in other sciences o¡er proof of the usefulness and bene¢t that sharing data provides through encouraging growth and development in those ¢elds. By building a publicly accessible repository of raw data from peerreviewed
more » ... dies, the Data Center hopes to create a similarly successful environment for the neurosciences. In this article, we discuss the continuum of data-sharing e¡orts and provide an overview of the scien-ti¢c and practical di¤culties inherent in managing various fMRI data-sharing approaches. Next, we detail the organization, design and foundation of the fMRIDC, ranging from its current capabilities to the issues involved in the submitting and requesting of data. We discuss how a publicly accessible database enables other ¢elds to develop relevant tools that can aid in the growth of understanding of cognitive processes. Information retrieval and meta-analytic techniques can be used to search, sort and categorize study information with a view towards subjecting study data to secondary'meta-' and'mega-analyses '. In addition, we detail the technical and policy challenges that have had to be addressed in the formation of the Data Center. Among others, these include: human subject con¢dentiality issues; ensuring investigator's rights; heterogeneous data description and organization; development of search tools; and data transfer issues. We conclude with comments concerning the future of the fMRIDC e¡ort, its role in promoting the sharing of neuroscienti¢c data, and how this may alter the manner in which studies are published.
doi:10.1098/rstb.2001.0916 pmid:11545705 pmcid:PMC1088517 fatcat:eegvyrf3i5aunja2gwu4uuaesm