Brain Models on the Web and the Need for Summary Data

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the various computational models of the brain to study brain functions. These models vary in design from the study of cable properties of a single neuron to a large-scale network of neurons for modeling behavior and overall function. The models of similar functions may be written in different programming environments and rely upon different hypotheses. Brain Models on the Web (BMW) is a development, research, and publications environment for models. The main goal of the BMW database is to act as an online repository for brain models, and to facilitate the publishing of links between models and the underlying data. The data within the Summary Database (SDB) function provides justifications for choices made by the modeler when designing the model. The database is implemented in Structured Query Language (SQL), and is hosted on a Sun workstation running the Informix Database Management System (DBMS). The five main groups of data that may be stored within BMW/SDB are persons, models, modules, documents, clumps, and experiments. The table definitions used as part of BMW and its methodology include core table, set backing table, dictionary table, and extendible parent.