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Sharing primary data: a threat or asset to discovery?

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From Nature Reviews Neuroscience

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Abstract

The degree of complexity of neuroscience data is a sufficient reason both for sharing and for not sharing primary data. Sharing data should make research more efficient and greatly facilitate our understanding of brain function. The intellectual challenges are identical with or without data sharing. Sharing increases the value of the data and provides new knowledge and understanding.

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Figure 1: The complexity of neuroscience research.
Figure 2: Pathways in neurons, astrocytes and microglia that are implicated in β-amyloid toxicity.
Figure 3: The value of data.

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Acknowledgements

This is not an official policy document of the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health or the US federal government. It reflects the opinions of the author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Office on Neuroinformatics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Bethesda, 20892, Maryland, USA

    Stephen H. Koslow

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  1. Stephen H. Koslow
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FURTHER INFORMATION

Alliance for Cellular Signaling

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

bioinformatics

biological data centres

magnetic resonance imaging

mining biological databases

fMRI Data Center

MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Sciences

magnetic resonance imaging

Neuroinformatics

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Koslow, S. Sharing primary data: a threat or asset to discovery?. Nat Rev Neurosci 3, 311–313 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn787

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn787

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