More than $1.8M to support open EEG data

Brain Canada grant will aid research into neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders

Electroencephalography (EEG) is an important tool in understanding the mechanism of brain disorders. Research in the field has gotten a major boost thanks to a $1.85M grant from Brain Canada to support EEGNet, an open repository for EEG data that helps scientists investigate neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders.

By working with scientists and laboratories from across Canada and around the world, EEGNet aims to standardize data formats and analysis tools to establish an optimal network for collaboration and data-sharing. The improved data analysis tools could lead to earlier detection in EEG abnormalities that are present early on in people with these disorders, and in different states of consciousness, such as sleep, coma, anaesthesia, and wakefulness.

With several of its researchers belonging to the Global Brain Consortium (GBC), as well as the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP), EEGNet advances the field of neuroscience at both the national and international level. The platform aims to position Canada as a leader in sharing EEG data by creating a substantial network that will advance the study of brain disorders.

The funds come as a Brain Canada Platform Support Grant, awarded to teams that create and/or enhance centralized, shared resources to increase access to equipment, expertise, data, and protocols across research networks.

“We are grateful for this support, and excited about what the funding will mean for advancements in neuroimaging and the broader brain research community,” says Alan Evans, a researcher at The Neuro and director of the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health. “Platform Support Grants like these contribute to building open neuroscience – and they provide us with the foundation for transformative discoveries, ultimately improving our understanding of the brain and its disorders.”

This project has been made possible with the financial support of Health Canada, through the Canada Brain Research Fund, an innovative partnership between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada, Brock University, Université Laval and McGill University.

Source: Brain Canada