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. 2019 Aug 9;6(4):ENEURO.0223-19.2019.
doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0223-19.2019. Print 2019 Jul/Aug.

The Future Is Open: Open-Source Tools for Behavioral Neuroscience Research

Samantha R White  1 , Linda M Amarante  1 , Alexxai V Kravitz  2 , Mark Laubach  3
Affiliations

The Future Is Open: Open-Source Tools for Behavioral Neuroscience Research

Samantha R White et al. eNeuro. .
No abstract available

Keywords: behavior; designs; methods; open source; protocols; tools.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Open source creative process: methods and questions. Traditional methods in neuroscience are purchased commercially and are used to answer a specific research question. Due to the need to maximize use based on the cost of the tool, the method often drives subsequent research questions. However, in an open source model, the research question drives the development of a method or tool. A major advantage of this in behavioral neuroscience is that previously unmeasured aspects of behavior now have the potential to be measured, leading to a new frontier of behavioral measurement and analysis. The tool is subsequently shared to the community, and the user seeks feedback from the community to refine the method. Sharing of an open source tool leads to the development of new projects across multiple research labs, leading researchers to, quite literally, think “outside the box.”
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Projects featured on OpenBehavior and a survey of our followers. A, Types of projects featured on OpenBehavior. The most common type of project allows for tracking behaviors in video recordings. Most projects have multiple functions. For example, Bonsai can be used for video recording, tracking behaviors, and controlling behavioral equipment. B, Based on web hits from unique URLs, we depict the overall interest of our followers. C, A survey on use of open source tools revealed that most labs use more than one programming language, with MATLAB/Octave and Python most commonly used. D, The survey also found that the majority of respondents reported using Arduinos microcontrollers, and less common tools included Raspberry Pi single board computers and Teensy microcontrollers. E, The majority of respondents reported having repositories for code and designs in their labs. However, most of these researchers did not report use of public repositories.
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