The Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project, a young and middle age population-based EEG, MRI, and cognition dataset

The Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project (CHBMP) repository is an open multimodal neuroimaging and cognitive dataset from 282 young and middle age healthy participants (31.9 ± 9.3 years, age range 18–68 years). This dataset was acquired from 2004 to 2008 as a subset of a larger stratified random sample of 2,019 participants from La Lisa municipality in La Habana, Cuba. The exclusion criteria included the presence of disease or brain dysfunctions. Participant data that is being shared comprises i) high-density (64–120 channels) resting-state electroencephalograms (EEG), ii) magnetic resonance images (MRI), iii) psychological tests (MMSE, WAIS-III, computerized go-no go reaction time), as well as iv,) demographic information (age, gender, education, ethnicity, handedness, and weight). The EEG data contains recordings with at least 30 minutes in duration including the following conditions: eyes closed, eyes open, hyperventilation, and subsequent recovery. The MRI consists of anatomical T1 as well as diffusion-weighted (DWI) images acquired on a 1.5 Tesla system. The dataset presented here is hosted by Synapse.org and available at https://chbmp-open.loris.ca.

Clinical MRI Research in Human Brain Mapping

The core mission of clinical MRI in Human Brain Mapping (HBM) is formed in a cycle of research, education and practice. Learning the effective diagnostic and treatment planning procedures occurs not in the classrooms but through engagement in active research. Clinical MRI research for HBM initiates with strategic and necessary demands of clinicians, e.g. neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. who need specific clinical MRI acquisition and quantification techniques for better, faster and more accurate diagnostic and followup procedures. Neuro-radiologists are responsible for all aspects of a research MRI examination, including assessment of patient’s clinical symptoms, assigning the imaging protocol, reviewing the acquired images for their quality and interpretations, and finally, preparing the reports. MR physicists with their unique scientific qualifications and perception of clinical requirements play a critical role in optimization of the existing protocols, establishment of research investigations and development of effective techniques (including pulse sequences, analysis and quantification software, etc.) for clinical application of MRI in HBM, when responsibility of a clinical scientist is minimal when the research methodology development starts while the physicist starts with the maximum responsibility to develop the methodology, and vice versa when the methodology development progresses from early to the end stages closer to the clinical practice.

Embracing diversity and inclusivity in an academic setting: Insights from the Organization for Human Brain Mapping

Scientific research aims to bring forward innovative ideas and constantly challenges existing knowledge structures and stereotypes. However, women, ethnic and cultural minorities, as well as individuals with disabilities, are systematically discriminated against or even excluded from promotions, publications, and general visibility. A more diverse workforce is more productive, and thus discrimination has a negative impact on science and the wider society, as well as on the education, careers, and well-being of individuals who are discriminated against. Moreover, the lack of diversity at scientific gatherings can lead to micro-aggressions or harassment, making such meetings unpleasant, or even unsafe environments for early career and underrepresented scientists.At the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), we recognized the need for promoting underrepresented scientists and creating diverse role models in the field of neuroimaging. To foster this, the OHBM has created a Diversity and Inclusivity Committee (DIC). In this article, we review the composition and activities of the DIC in order to inspire other organizations to implement similar initiatives. Activities of the committee over the past four years have included (a) creating a code of conduct, (b) providing diversity and inclusivity education for OHBM members, (c) organizing interviews and symposia on diversity issues, and (d) organizing family-friendly activities and providing child care grants during the OHBM annual meetings.We strongly believe that these activities have brought positive change within the wider OHBM community, improving inclusivity and fostering diversity while promoting rigorous, ground-breaking science. These positive changes could not have been so rapidly implemented without the enthusiastic support from the leadership, including OHBM Council and Program Committee, and the OHBM Special Interest Groups (SIGs), namely the Open Science, Student and Postdoc, and Brain-Art SIGs. Nevertheless, there remains ample room for improvement, in all areas, and even more so in the area of targeted attempts to increase inclusivity for individuals with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, racial/ethnic minorities, and individuals of various socioeconomic status.Here, we present an overview of the DIC’s composition, its activities, future directions and challenges. Our goal is to share our experiences with a wider audience to provide information to other organizations and institutions wishing to implement similar comprehensive diversity initiatives. We propose that scientific organizations can push the boundaries of scientific progress only by moving beyond existing power structures and by integrating principles of acceptance and inclusivity in their core values.

The Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project population based normative EEG, MRI, and Cognition dataset

The Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project (CHBMP) repository is an open multimodal neuroimaging and cognitive dataset from 282 healthy participants (31.9 ± 9.3 years, age range 18–68 years). This dataset was acquired from 2004 to 2008 as a subset of a larger stratified random sample of 2,019 participants from La Lisa municipality in La Habana, Cuba. The exclusion included presence of disease or brain dysfunctions. The information made available for all participants comprises: high-density (64-120 channels) resting state electroencephalograms (EEG), magnetic resonance images (MRI), psychological tests (MMSE, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale -WAIS III, computerized reaction time tests using a go no-go paradigm), as well as general information (age, gender, education, ethnicity, handedness and weight). The EEG data contains recordings with at least 30 minutes duration including the following conditions: eyes closed, eyes open, hyperventilation and subsequent recovery. The MRI consisted in anatomical T1 and T2 as well as diffusion weighted (DWI) images acquired on a 1.5 Tesla system. The data is available for registered users on the LORIS database which is part of the MNI neuroinformatics ecosystem.

Ultra-high-order ICA: fine overlapping functional parcellations and spatiotemporal reconfiguration

Our recent findings show that functional organizations evolve spatially over time, highlighting the importance of considering within-subject spatial variations and dynamic functional parcellations in brain functional analyses. Meanwhile, a considerable level of multi-functionality suggests the need for overlapping brain parcellations. In this work, we used ultra-high-order ICA to identify fine overlapping functional dynamic parcellations of the brain. The preliminary result of this work was presented at the organization for human brain mapping workshop (OHBM 2019)1.