We’re hosting a Google Hangout on Air with Google Science Fair on May 29! During the hangout, we’ll introduce EyeWire and answer questions. Anyone can join and watch live!

RSVP here. About the hangout:

The race is on to map brains — and one way we’ll get there is through games.

Join +Amy Robinson from the computational neuroscience lab at MIT  creating +EyeWire, a game to map the human brain. She’ll tell you how 6 months ago her team launched a game mapping the 3D structure of neurons in a brain. Over 60,000 people from 130 countries have played to date. They’re rapidly advancing our quest to understand the mysteries of how the mind makes you who you are.

What can we learn about our own brains from playing games? Come to the Hangout and find out! Post your questions here on the Event Page for Amy to answer with the #GSF2013.

Wednesday, 29 May, 12:00PM PT / 2:00PM CT / 3:00PM ET / 1900 GMT / 2000 UTC / 2100 CET

EyeWire may begin hosting Google+ hangouts with players and producing a monthly video news update. Let us know what you think about this in the comments section.

We’re also hosting a hangout for university students in Algeria with TEDxAnnaba on May 26! This event won’t be open to the public but we hope to share video after it is complete.

TEDxAnnaba’s Medhi Dib made a rad promo video (in French). We love it and thought we’d share.

The post Hang out with EyeWire at Google Science Fair (and TEDxAmman in Jordan) appeared first on EyeWire.

There has been a lot of talk about F-scores in the chat recently. F-scores are a statistical method for determining accuracy accounting for both precision and for recall or more simply put F-scores are the how HQ determines your accuracy based on what was added and what was missed. The formula for the traditional F-score is:

Before we can calculate the final F-score first we must calculate your individual precision and recall. When a player does a cube there are four possible outcomes for every segment in that cube: a true positive result, a false positive result, a false negative result and a true negative result. A true positive (tp) result is when a player adds a segment that should be added. A false positive (fp) is when a player adds a segment that should not be added. A false negative (fn) is when a player misses a segment they should have added and a true negative (tn) is when a player correctly does not add a segment and that segment does not belong. An quick way to remember to which is which is positive means something was added and negative means something wasn’t added and true means it was correctly done and false means it was incorrectly done.  In the figure below you can see an example of false negative and an example of false positive.  In the figure below the red and the yellow segments are what the player submitted.  The green segment was not submitted by the player.

The red segment here is a false positive and the green segment is a false negative.  The player mistakenly added the red segment when they should have added the green segment instead.

This brings us back to precision; precision is how much of a volume was added correctly. For example if Player A has a precision 0.9221 that means about 92% of what Player A added was correct and about 8% of what Player A added should not have been added. To determine a player’s precision we use their true positive (tp) results, correctly added, and their false positive (fp) results, incorrectly added, in this formula:

Recall measures how much of the volume was missed. Let’s say Player A has a recall of 0.9409. That means that Player A missed about 6% of the correct segments in the cubes Player A worked on. To determine a player’s recall we use their true positive (tp) results, correctly added, and false negative (fn) results, incorrectly missed, in this formula:

Now we would take the results from both of those formulas and plug them into the formula above to get a player’s F-score or another way to look at it is we take the harmonic mean of a player’s precision and recall to get their overall accuracy rating.

One question we a get a lot is how do we know what is correct and what isn’t? What is correct is determined by combining the GrimReaper’s corrections with the Eyewirer consensus. If a cube does not have a GrimReaper correction we just use the EyeWirer consensus. We have been able to confirm that the EyeWirer consensus is quite reliable. Once a week our fabulous grad student updates this information for all of our EyeWirers and while a higher F-score implies higher accuracy we currently cannot prove this to be true. It is likely though. In the meantime keep on playing!

The post F-Scores appeared first on EyeWire.

Nkem’s Trivia Challenge begins in one hour on eyewire.org! Join us for 20 questions and 10,000 bonus points.

Trivia will be followed by a 1 hour points challenge — score more than any other player and we’ll double your winnings from the competition window. Second and third place win 1.5x and 1.25x bonuses, respectively.

See you soon at eyewire.org!

The post 1 Hour Until EyeWire’s Nkem Trivia Challenge appeared first on EyeWire.

“The human genome is made up of 20,000 to 25,000 genes. The human brain contains almost 100 billion neurons making trillions of connections.”

Visualization via onlinecollegecourses.

The post Interactive Infographic of Basic Brain Anatomy appeared first on EyeWire.

Meet Laure Bersig aka @laurcifer, EyeWirer and artist of the image above!

Hello everybody.  My name is Laure and I adore learning.  I have a bachelor degree in Music Production/Criticism.  Currently, I am a medical assisting student in New York and will be receiving my associate degree in allied health and applied science this coming May.

Why do you play EyeWire?

Can you imagine what humans could accomplish if we were to use the resources around us in more meaningful ways?  I believe EyeWire is a great example of what we can collectively achieve when the right tools are in place.

I participate in EyeWire because it gives me the opportunity to contribute to real research.  I love that we are working towards learning the unknowns about the structure of mammalian brains.  This is not something we did in high school science class in the 90’s, any experiments or data collection that we took part in already had a known correct answer.  My dream job is to become a professor or a researcher in the field of neuroendocrinology so that I may continue to delve into the unknown and teach others what I learn.

How did you discover EyeWire?

I discovered EyeWire back in January of 2012 while I was working on a digital painting and listening to TED Talks on the human brain.  I was particularly interested in the talk about connectomics.  I watched it again the same day and sent a flattering e-mail to Professor Seung requesting to get involved. By February I was on the beta test for EyeWire.

I really enjoyed the way Professor Seung made connections between how the human brain functions and the way personal experiences coupled with genetic factors distinguish individuals from their fellow man.  I believe a better understanding of neurology and the brain in general would benefit society in countless ways and I need to be involved in spreading this message.

Share a short story that helps the world get to know you.

I always considered myself an individual with pretty eclectic tastes – until I discovered brain science.  In college the first time around, I studied art, music, English, criticism, environmental science, anthropology, religion and culture and have recently begun to study medical science while giving college a second go.  For me, brain science ties all of my interests together very concretely.

I find studying the brain inspiring and empowering.  Learning about how the human brain functions and the way personal experiences coupled with genetic factors distinguish individuals from their fellow man is fascinating.

 Anything else you’d like to add?

Let’s hear it for 2 great teachers! (Aside from Prof. Seung)

1. Professor James McElwaine of SUNY Purchase in New York: One day during my Studio Production class, Professor McElwaine made a statement that haunted me for years to come.  He said “The structure of the musician brain is different than the structure of the non-musician brain”.  This idea was the source of my beginning to research how the human brain works.

2. Carl Sagan: Last but certainly not least, Carl Sagan inspires me above all others.  Sometimes the best teachers are not found in the classroom.  Watching episode 11, “The Persistence of Memory” of the Views of the Cosmos series changed me for the better.  I now have the confidence to train my brain to my liking.  While talking about the human brain, Sagan puts emphasis on using our brains to understand the world around us.  To do so, he makes vivid comparisons of the brain to a city and to a library.  While discussing the cerebral cortex, Sagan unlocks a treasure trove of quotes, a few of which I will share with you:

“There is so much more that we must figure out than the genes can know.  That’s why the brain library has ten thousand times more information in it than the gene library.  Our passion for learning is the tool for our survival”.  Sagan also goes on to say how unlike the gene library, we are constantly adding new pages and volumes to the brain library.

While discussing gray matter, he reveres the higher functions of the cortex as “(It is) the distinction of our species, the seat of our humanity.  Art and science live here.  Civilization is a product of the cerebral cortex”

“We are, each of us, largely responsible for what gets put into our brains, for what, as adults, we wind up knowing and caring about.  No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain, we can change ourselves.  Think of the possibilities”.

The post Featured EyeWirer: Laure Bersig appeared first on EyeWire.

Announcing the first EyeWire Trivia Hour!

This Friday at 2 pm EDT (11 am PT/ 8 pm CET) @nkem presents a bonus round that will put your EyeWire knowledge to the test.

We’ll roll out an EyeWire trivia question every 5 minutes for 1 hour. Be the first to answer correctly and win +500 points per answer. Up for grabs: 10,000 points!

Gear up by visiting our Wiki and FAQ.

This trivia round will be followed by a 1 hour points challenge — score more than any other player and we’ll double your winnings from the competition window. Second and third place win 1.5x and 1.25x bonuses, respectively.

See you online at eyewire.org!

The post Nkem Presents EyeWire Trivia (Friday @2pm) appeared first on EyeWire.

On Monday, EyeWire HQ challenged you to battle with the @RPrentki Challenge. Rachel, AKA @rprentki and the tour de force behind EyeWire’s Omni Room (and summoner of Grim Reaper), invited all EyeWirers to take on her expert mapping skills.

There were two ways to win:

1. Outscore Rachel (most points scored receives double points during power hour).
2. Beat Rachel’s accuracy for a +5,000 point bonus (how we calculate accuracy).

After factoring in trailblaze bonuses, we’re thrilled to congratulate @jamiexq, winner of the RPrentki Challenge points division. With her glory comes a +9,683 bonus. Talk about a close race..Jamiexq beat @a5hm0r by a mere 20 points! A5hm0r will receive a +1,000 bonus for such a close second. Check out the full points-based leaderboard here.

Congrats to the top 10 by points:

1. jamiexq 9683

2. a5hm0r 9664

3. rprentki 7942

4. reb1618 7570

5. susi 7342

6. couc 6440

7. nkem 4032

8. marika 3814

9. jinbean 3752

10. Laurcifer 2820

Accuracy Ranking

Accuracy was calculated only if a player submitted 15 starburst cubes during the rprentki challenge. Only starburst cubes factor into this metric. It took a little longer than expected but we’re pleased to announce that accuracy results are in!

Seven players beat @rprentki in accuracy and will receive a bonus of +5,000 points: marika, reb1618, nkem, jinbean, a5hm0r, Laurcifer and susi. Conratulations!

Here is a full list of rprentki challenge accuracy stats. Stay tuned for more EyeWire Games — next friday we’ll feature the nkem trivia challenge, details coming soon!

See you online at EyeWire.org!

——–

Refresher: What is F-score and what do the other values in the rprentki stats mean?

(Text below originally appeared in results to Ketta Competition)

How do we determine F-Score?

First we look at volume added by each player. We separate out this number into Positive  Volume (“PV” i.e. correct volume), False Negative (“FN,” i.e. volume that should have been added but wasn’t – these are missed branches) and False Positive (“FP,” i.e. volume added that should not have been — this is where mergers come from).

The F-Score is a combination of precision and recall.

Precision is how much volume was accurately added.  It is calculated as follows:

Recall is a metric of how much volume was missed. This is particularly important for Starburst neurons, as volume missed tends to lead to missing branches that don’t spawn new cubes. It is calculated as follows:

This leads to F-Score:

The post RPrentki Challenge: Results are In! appeared first on EyeWire.

Rachel (@rprentki) form EyeWire HQ challenges you to a rematch! Starting at 4 pm US EST (NOW) form 4 to 5 pm, join a bonus round.

Score over 4,000 points and receive a +4,000 bonus.

Outscore @rprentki and your score between 4 and 5 will be tripled.

Stay tuned for more spontaneous challenges and a new weekly Friday challenge on EyeWire.org. Also check out a new neuron in Level 2: Starburst Challenge #2!

Game on!

The post Spontaneous Power Hour – starting now on eyewire.org appeared first on EyeWire.

EyeWire’s Claire O’Connell will speak at TEDxAtlanta this Tuesday, May 7th at 2:30 pm US EST! Watch live at tedxatlanta.com. We’ll be tuning in from the lab and livechatting on eyewire.org — you definitely don’t want to miss this!

About TEDxAtlanta:

Even as we face seemingly insurmountable obstacles, humanity finds reasons to believe in a better world. On May 7th, from noon to six, TEDxAtlanta will celebrate a dozen ideas and innovations that provide reasons to be optimistic about the future. Together we’ll explore big ideas surrounding the future of journalism, education, neuroscience, solar energy, disease control, climate change, water management, as well as creativity, collaboration, humility and the power of poetry. Join us, either in person or via Live Stream on May 7th from 12:20pm to 5:30pm — and add your “reasons to believe” to the conversation.

The post EyeWire at TEDxAtlanta! appeared first on EyeWire.

The Friday Challenge Happy Hour is compelete!

And the winner is….. @a5hm0r, scoring 5,103 points! Second place goes to @lobusparietalis and @jamiexq comes in third. Full leaderboard here.

We calculated winner based on total score minus points from mergers.  Special shoutout to @rinda, @soulcollector and @crazyman4865, top 3 players whose total score came from accurate tracing.

Join us Monday for your chance to face off with EyeWire HQ in the RPrentki vs the World Challenge!

The post Friday Happy Hour Winners appeared first on EyeWire.