April 15, 2018 (Vol. 38, No. 8)
URL:
http://www.opensourcebrain.org
Rating:
Strong Points: Open-access computational models and simulations
Weak Points: None
Summary:
With the inspiring tagline “Modeling the brain, together” largely displayed on the homepage, the Open Source Brain (OSB) resource embodies the collaborative scientific spirit. OSB comprises a number of (you guessed it) open-source projects consisting of computational models of neurons or circuits. The site interfaces with GitHub, which houses the models themselves in its repositories. OSB contains information about how to create projects and write project documentation, and it also gives users the ability to explore current projects and run simulations with specific models. The homepage provides site visitors with suggested models to explore, including a Hodgkin–Huxley neuron and a primary auditory cortex network. Alternatively, users can browse all projects (totaling 81 at the time of this writing), which are organized by organism and brain region. Primary citations for each dataset are also provided.
