The purpose of this workshop is to bring together Computer Scientists and
Neuroscientists interested in the problem of creating a database of
identified neurons and connections. The immediate goal is to increase the
communication among three groups of people:
Experimental neuroscientists who represent communities that might need such a database,
Experts who have created related databases, and
Computer scientists who have expertise in related areas of data management and manipulation.
The ultimate goal is to create a web-based tool where information about identified neurons or neuronal classes and synapses can be published.
Morning Session: Reports on Neuroinformatics Efforts. What are issues of database design? What’s out there already? Presentations will be on existing neuronal databases, highlighting their features. These presentations will discuss how these databases are used by the various communities. They will also discuss current problems that need to be worked on.
Afternoon Session: Database Needs of the Invertebrate Neuroscience Community These talks will be by potential users of a database of identified neurons describing what their needs would be. What types of data are collected by experimentalists? How are neurons identified?
Roundtable Discussion - Building identified neuron databases. What should the structure of the databases be? What is the relative value of detail vs. searchability? What features should the user interface have? How much time should it take to enter data for a cell? What features should be included in the search engine? What steps should be taken? Where do we go from here? Create Action Plan.
