The Brain Analysis Library of Spatial maps and Atlases (BALSA) database.

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neuroanatomy
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• Neuroimaging research generates vast datasets that are often difficult to access and analyze.
• Sharing extensively analyzed datasets is crucial for reproducibility and advancing neuroscience.
• Existing repositories may not adequately capture the complexity or analytical depth of published neuroimaging findings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Brain Atlas and Linking System (BALSA) database.
• To provide a centralized repository for analyzed neuroimaging and neuroanatomical datasets.
• To facilitate efficient access to richly informative datasets beyond static publication images.

Main Methods:

• BALSA is organized into two sections: BALSA Reference and BALSA Studies.
• BALSA Reference contains curated data mapped to brain atlases (surfaces, volumes, connectivity).
• BALSA Studies hosts datasets from published studies, shared via 'scene' files for visualization software.

Main Results:

• BALSA offers access to extensively analyzed neuroimaging and neuroanatomical data.
• The database includes reference datasets and study-specific datasets.
• Data sharing is facilitated through 'scene' files compatible with Connectome Workbench.

Conclusions:

• BALSA provides efficient access to valuable neuroimaging datasets.
• The database supports enhanced data sharing and scientific collaboration in neuroscience.
• BALSA transcends the limitations of static images in publications by providing access to underlying analyzed data.