Strides in understanding the brain have come from a medley of research efforts in recent years. But to a great extent, researchers in the field still work in an “artisanal, cottage-industry” way, says Michael Häusser of University College London. Variations in equipment and protocols complicate comparing and combining data to reach a holistic understanding of the brain.

Eager to accelerate progress in their field, Häusser and colleagues formed a plan in the fall of 2016 for a new paradigm for neuroscience research: Many groups—starting with 20 in Europe and the US—would adopt coherent approaches to their shared goals. The experimentalist members of the collaboration would study different parts of the mouse brain using identical setups so that their data could be readily shared and interpreted by others. The theorists would not only analyze the data, fit mathematical models, and develop new models, but also help guide the experiments. Given the...

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