Title
Knowledge synthesis with maps of neural connectivity.
Abstract
This paper describes software for neuroanatomical knowledge synthesis based on neural connectivity data. This software supports a mature methodology developed since the early 1990s. Over this time, the Swanson laboratory at USC has generated an account of the neural connectivity of the sub-structures of the hypothalamus, amygdala, septum, hippocampus, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. This is based on neuroanatomical data maps drawn into a standard brain atlas by experts. In earlier work, we presented an application for visualizing and comparing anatomical macro connections using the Swanson third edition atlas as a framework for accurate registration. Here we describe major improvements to the NeuARt application based on the incorporation of a knowledge representation of experimental design. We also present improvements in the interface and features of the data mapping components within a unified web-application. As a step toward developing an accurate sub-regional account of neural connectivity, we provide navigational access between the data maps and a semantic representation of area-to-area connections that they support. We do so based on an approach called "Knowledge Engineering from Experimental Design" (KEfED) model that is based on experimental variables. We have extended the underlying KEfED representation of tract-tracing experiments by incorporating the definition of a neuronanatomical data map as a measurement variable in the study design. This paper describes the software design of a web-application that allows anatomical data sets to be described within a standard experimental context and thus indexed by non-spatial experimental design features.
Year
DOI
Venue
2011
10.3389/fninf.2011.00024
Front. Neuroinform.
Keywords
Field
DocType
knowledge engineering,neural connectivity,neuroanatomical mapping,tract-tracing,bioinformatics,biomedical research
Data mining,Knowledge representation and reasoning,Brain atlas,Data set,Software design,Data mapping,Computer science,Software,Knowledge engineering,Artificial intelligence,Web application,Machine learning
Journal
Volume
ISSN
Citations 
5
1662-5196
4
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.48
3
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Marcelo Tallis110214.80
Richard Thompson240.48
Thomas A. Russ319226.11
Gully A. P. C. Burns417212.17