Abstract
In this chapter, we address if and how big data computational capability could enable the establishment of a common, accessible database for neuroscientific research and its translation that provides a resource for 1) (raw) data harvesting; 2) data fusion; 3) data integration, functional formulation, and exchange; and 4) broad data access and use. We posit that big data represents a force multiplier to augment and optimize the capabilities and de-limit certain constraints that impede broad-scale use of neuroscientific information. More than a simple repository, we maintain that this enterprise would require a dynamic—and secure—resource of tools and methods for harvesting (and provenance), quality evaluation (and data retraction if and when quality issues and/or problems are revealed/elucidated), distribution, and sharing. Such an integrated big data system could allow (a) methodological validity (b) adequate probabilistic inference, and (c) reliability. However big data employment in brain sciences also incurs a number of ethico-legal issues, and these are addressed, and approaches toward their resolution are discussed.
Force multiplier—a capability that when employed, significantly increases the potential of a force and thereby enhances the probability of successful engagement and outcomes.
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Acknowledgements
This chapter was supported in part, by funding from Children’s Hospital and Clinics Foundation (JG), and an unrestricted research grant from Thync Biotechnologies (JG). Sections of this work were derived from a series of governmental whitepapers produced and edited by the authors (DD, JG) for the Strategic Multilayer Assessment Group of the Joint Staff of the Pentagon, and have been excerpted and used here with permission.
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DiEuliis, D., Giordano, J. (2016). Neurotechnological Convergence and “Big Data”: A Force-Multiplier Toward Advancing Neuroscience. In: Collmann, J., Matei, S. (eds) Ethical Reasoning in Big Data. Computational Social Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28422-4_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28422-4_6
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