Neuroimaging Databases
The Governing Council of the Organization for Human Brain
Mapping (OHBM)
These are comments written by the Governing Council of the
Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), the primary international organization dedicated to neuroimaging research. The purpose of these
comments is to identify and frame issues concerning data sharing within
the neuroimaging community. Data sharing has become an important issue
in most fields of science. The neuroimaging community is no exception,
and it clearly perceives potential benefits in such efforts, as have
been realized in other fields such as genomics. At the same time, such
efforts can be costly (both in time and expense), and there are
important factors that differentiate brain imaging from other fields
and that pose specific challenges to the generation of useful
neuroimaging databases. These include the rapid pace of change in brain
imaging technologies; the complexity of the variables that must be
specified to meaningfully interpret the results (such as the method of
image acquisition, behavioral design, and subject characteristics); and
concerns about participant confidentiality. These issues are outlined
with the goal of framing and promoting a public discussion of the
benefits and risks of data sharing, which can inform the field of
neuroimaging as well as others that face similar challenges.
OHBM, Post Office Box 425464, Cambridge, MA 02142-0009, USA. URL:
www.humanbrainmapping.org.
