ANIMA: A data-sharing initiative for neuroimaging meta-analyses.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging Analysis

Background:

• Meta-analytic techniques aggregate data from functional neuroimaging studies.
• Online databases like Brainmap and Neurosynth compile peak activation coordinates.
• Meta-analytic findings identify consistently activated brain regions for hypothesis testing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a new online repository for meta-analytic neuroimaging results called the Archive of Neuroimaging Meta-analyses (ANIMA).
• To present an open-source desktop application, Volume Viewer, for organizing and analyzing neuroimaging data.
• To enhance data sharing and integration capabilities for cognitive neuroscientists.

Main Methods:

• Developed the ANIMA platform with an intuitive interface for querying, downloading, and contributing meta-analytic data.
• Created Volume Viewer for arranging imaging data, computing conjunctions, and extracting regions of interest.
• Facilitated the uploading of Volume Viewer sessions to the ANIMA database.

Main Results:

• ANIMA provides a centralized repository for published meta-analytic neuroimaging results.
• Volume Viewer enables efficient data organization, visualization, and basic analysis.
• The integrated system supports enhanced sharing and utilization of meta-analytic findings.

Conclusions:

• The ANIMA platform and Volume Viewer significantly improve researchers' ability to share and incorporate meta-analytic neuroimaging data.
• These tools foster collaboration and advance the interpretation of neuroimaging findings.
• The resource facilitates the broader application of meta-analytic results in cognitive neuroscience research.