Sharing voxelwise neuroimaging results from rhesus monkeys and other species with Neurovault

Animal neuroimaging studies can provide unique insights into brain structure and function, and can be leveraged to bridge the gap between animal and human neuroscience. In part, this power comes from the ability to combine mechanistic interventions with brain-wide neuroimaging. Due to their phylogenetic proximity to humans, nonhuman primate neuroimaging holds particular promise. Because nonhuman primate neuroimaging studies are often underpowered, there is a great need to share data amongst translational researchers. Data sharing efforts have been limited, however, by the lack of standardized tools and repositories through which nonhuman neuroimaging data can easily be archived and accessed. Here, we provide an extension of the Neurovault framework to enable sharing of statistical maps and related voxelwise neuroimaging data from other species and template-spaces. Neurovault, which was previously limited to human neuroimaging data, now allows researchers to easily upload and share nonhuman primate neuroimaging results. This promises to facilitate open, integrative, cross-species science while affording researchers the increased statistical power provided by data aggregation. In addition, the Neurovault code-base now enables the addition of other species and template-spaces. Together, these advances promise to bring neuroimaging data sharing to research in other species, for supplemental data, location-based atlases, and data that would otherwise be relegated to a file-drawer. As increasing numbers of researchers share their nonhuman neuroimaging data on Neurovault, this resource will enable novel, large-scale, cross-species comparisons that were previously impossible.

Automated summary

Animal neuroimaging studies offer unique insights into brain structure and function, bridging the gap between animal and human neuroscience. However, nonhuman primate neuroimaging studies often lack statistical power, highlighting the need for increased data sharing to facilitate cross-species research. Efforts to share data have been limited by the lack of standardized tools and repositories, but advancements in Neurovault now allow for easy sharing of nonhuman primate neuroimaging results, promising to enable novel cross-species comparisons.