Is neuroscience FAIR? A call for collaborative standardisation of neuroscience data

Jean-Baptiste Poline, University of California - Berkeley
David N Kennedy, University of Massachusetts
Friedrich T Sommer, University of California - Berkeley
Giorgio A Ascoli, George Mason University
David C Van Essen, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Adam R Ferguson, University of California - San Francisco
Jeffrey S Grethe, University of California - San Diego
Michael J Hawrylycz, Allen Institute for Brain Science
Paul M Thompson, University of Southern California
Russell A Poldrack, Stanford University
Satrajit S Ghosh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
David B Keator, University of California - Irvine
Thomas L Athey, Johns Hopkins University
Joshua T Vogelstein, Johns Hopkins University
Helen S Mayberg, Icahn School of Medicine
Maryann E Martone, University of California - San Diego

Abstract

In this perspective article, we consider the critical issue of data and other research object standardisation and, specifically, how international collaboration, and organizations such as the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility (INCF) can encourage that emerging neuroscience data be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). As neuroscientists engaged in the sharing and integration of multi-modal and multiscale data, we see the current insufficiency of standards as a major impediment in the Interoperability and Reusability of research results. We call for increased international collaborative standardisation of neuroscience data to foster integration and efficient reuse of research objects.