We all agree human brain is one of the most complex and fascinating systems nature has to offer. To fully understand it has forever been one of the biggest challenges of humanity. Furthermore, it has lately become a strategic element in USA and Europe, which have started their own projects, BI (Brain Initiative) and HBP (Human Brain Project), respectively.
2014 Society for Neuroscience meeting gathered again the most prominent neuroscientists of the world, and so Butler Scientifics decided to be present at the venue, too.
Collaborating with Science
Science finds its grounds in mutual collaboration, and so do we.
In Butler Scientifics we are looking for professional researchers working on the study of complex systems, trying to understand their principles of operation through data. For these researchers we firmly believe that EDA (Exploratory Data Analysis) is one of the greatest contributions to their goals.
Our goal at SfN 2014 was to find research professionals fitting the description above, in order to offer them a treat: they make the most out of our data management consulting and the analysis capabilities of AutoDiscovery while we refine our software with their knowledge and advice.
8 nice posters we found on EDA
During the 5 days the event lasted there were officially presented almost 13.800 posters, covering areas such as addiction, visual processing, neurodegeneration and psychiatric disorders. Over 2.000 were based on EDA key concepts such as the study of complex relations, correlational analysis or the exploration stage on experimental design.
Thanks to the wonderful SfN search tool we could easily identify those posters best aligned with our collaborative goal. Out of all those posters, we would like to make special mention to the following ones:
(1) C. J. HAMMOND, A. B. CADER, J. R. BRANDT, M. VELEZ, L. E. SEMLER, M. D. MARRUSO3, M. G. BELL2, J. L. SMITH4, N. E. JOSEPH4, K. E. GALLUZZI4, D. M. APPELT, B. J. BALIN, Can cognitive decline be correlated with Chlamydia pneumoniae infection, inflammatory markers and amyloid in human blood?
Dr. Balin’s team studies the link between Chlamydia pneumoniae and Alzheimer’s disease using autopsied brains.
(2) O. SOLIS, I. ESPADAS, Y. TIZABI, E. DEL-BEL, R. MORATALLA, Role of nitrergic system in L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease
Assesses the role of nitric oxide as a key player in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. Its conclusions are based on correlations.
(3) D. J. GORBET, L. E. SERGIO, The neural correlates of dissociating the spatial directions of eye and arm movements
Explores the neural activity underlying coordinated eye-hand movements.
(4) T. MADHYASTHA, J. ZHANG, J. LEVERENZ, S.-C. HU and T. GRABOWSKI, Multimodal imaging analysis of neuropathologic heterogenity in Parkinson's disease
Uses a PCA-based approach to analyze the relationships underlying cognitive impairments in Parkinson’s disease.
(5) P. V. BELICHENKO, A. M. KLESCHEVNIKOV, V. A. AKULININ, E. G. WAGNER, A. BECKER, L. V. LYSENKO, S. S. STEPANOV, M. MICHALKO, I. MAHAPARN, M. A. PITTMAN, N. Y. KLESCHEVNIKOVA, E. MASLIAH, E. Y. YU, W. C. MOBLEY, Behavioral, physiological and morphological studies in the Dp(16)1Yey mouse model of Down syndrome
Explores Down syndrome in a recently created genetic mouse model of that disease.
(6) B. D. ADDISON, A. C. EVANS, B. J. BEDELL, In vivo MRI studies of structural changes in mouse brain following forced treadmill training
The objective of this study was to perform an exploratory analysis of structural alterations in mouse brain following exercise.
(7) Y. HORIUCHI, Y. TAKAYANAGI, T. HO, K. TAJINDA, N. G. CASCELLA, D. SCHRETLEN, J. PEVSNER, A. SAWA, Molecular signature in olfactory neuronal epithelium that is correlated with cognitive impairment in schizophrenia
This exploratory study indicates the importance of further investigation on the family of genes SMAD pathway in conjunction with cognitive deficit of patients with schizophrenia.
(8) Y. GAZES, J. STEFFENER, Q. R. RAZLIGHI, D. J. BARULLI, Y. STERN, White matter integrity mediates age-related effects on cognitive abilities
An nice example of the value of consolidating information from a variety of cognitive tests in a exploratory data analysis.
Let's talk things over ...
Our experience at SfN was fantastic. There we met many researchers who, with time and experience, have become much more aware that the hypothesis-driven approach is necessary but not enough when tackling high complexity studies.
On many occasions in the area of neurosciences both conditions are fulfilled, explaining why they use EDA in their projects.
We have just started cooperating with them in order to mutually benefit from collaboration. They get an advanced analysis tool while we learn and improve.
Are you in?
Drop us an email. We'll be glad to meet you!