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Furcila D, García M, Toader C, Morales J, LaTorre A, Rodríguez Á, Pastor L, DeFelipe J, Alonso-Nanclares L. InTool Explorer: An Interactive Exploratory Analysis Tool for Versatile Visualizations of Neuroscientific Data. Front Neuroanat 2019; 13:28. [PMID: 30914926 PMCID: PMC6421977 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2019.00028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The bottleneck for progress in many research areas within neuroscience has shifted from the data acquisition to the data analysis stages. In the present article, we propose a method named InTool Explorer that we have developed to perform interactive exploratory data analysis, focusing on neuroanatomy as an example of its utility. This tool is freely-available software that has been designed to facilitate the study of complex neuroscience data. InTool Explorer requires no more than an internet connection and a web browser. The main contribution of this tool is to provide a user-designed canvas for data visualization and interaction, to perform specific exploratory tasks according to the user needs. Moreover, InTool Explorer permits visualization of the datasets in a very dynamic and versatile way using a linked-card approach. For this purpose, the tool allows the user to select among different predefined card types. Each card type offers an abstract data representation, a filtering tool or a set of statistical analysis methods. Additionally, InTool Explorer makes it possible linking raw images to the data. These images can be used by InTool Explorer to define new customized filtering cards. Another significant contribution of this tool is that it allows fast visualization of the data, error finding, and re-evaluation to establish new hypotheses or new lines of research. Thus, regarding its practical application in the laboratory, InTool Explorer provides a new opportunity to study and analyze neuroscience data prior to any statistical analysis being carried out.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Furcila
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - Marcos García
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Informática, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.,Center for Computational Simulation (CCS), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Cosmin Toader
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Informática, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Antonio LaTorre
- Center for Computational Simulation (CCS), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ángel Rodríguez
- Center for Computational Simulation (CCS), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Pastor
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Informática, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.,Center for Computational Simulation (CCS), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Department of Functional and Systems Neurobiology, Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Lidia Alonso-Nanclares
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Department of Functional and Systems Neurobiology, Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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