[Eeglablist] Hierarchical Event Descriptor (HED) system - request for endorsements

[Scott Makeig]

All -  Two days ago I wrote about the 3rd-generation HED (Hierarchical
Event Descriptors) project and proposal. We didn't realize that there was a
problem with the host settings for hedtags.org, now fixed by Dung...

Scott

On Tue, Aug 17, 2021 at 6:31 PM Scott Makeig <smakeig at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Annotating more precisely the nature of events in neurobehavioral and
> other time series data is an essential step in advancing understanding of
> brain dynamics, particularly to allow cross-study analyses using new AI
> methods. The Hierarchical Event Descriptor (HED) system, first presented by
> Nima Bigdely-Shamlo at SCCN in 2012, is the only system we are aware of
> that provides a practical path for human-readable *and*
> machine-actionable annotation of events. For this reason, in 2019 the BIDS
> Steering Committee included HED in the top-level BIDS data structure,
> meaning it is now specifically allowed in BIDS data of all modalities.
>
>
> Kay Robbins and myself, with Dung Truong, and Arno Delorme have been
> pushing development of the HED system development, most recently publishing
> the specification document and base schema vocabulary for third-generation
> HED (explorable at *hedtags.org/display_hed.html
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__hedtags.org_display-5Fhed.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=-35OiAkTchMrZOngvJPOeA&r=kB5f6DjXkuOQpM1bq5OFA9kKiQyNm1p6x6e36h3EglE&m=xoZ4GcQT5uqu6EHzl1wjx8Thz1xIXrDwtEijUgL2N2A&s=xeqC_FBDzKgXmNyN2rz0qtP-euxkDQEwVK_CBW0wV1E&e= >*), and are now soliciting letters
> of support for our submission of an NIH grant proposal, *Hierarchical
> Event Descriptors (HED): a system for machine-actionable annotation of
> events and experimental structure in neurobehavioral data.*  We have also
> continued to build the HED tool infrastructure needed to support HED
> annotation and validation, including implementing a HED validator function
> in the BIDS validation software. Our next tasks are to tag more datasets
> and to write tutorials on use of HED.
>
>
> Concrete case studies have demonstrated how HED can document not only what
> happened (in detail) during the data recording, but also the experimental
> design and control variable context in which the event occurred, all in a
> compact, human readable and machine actionable format. In addition, during
> the last year we have continued to focus on making human use of HED and HED
> annotation as simple and natural as possible, as we realize this is key to
> wider adoption.
>
>
>
>       One new feature we have added to HED is the concept (and syntax) for
> extending the basic HED annotation vocabulary through addition of *HED
> Library Schemas* to the base HED schema (like adding libraries in
> python). Library schemas are intended to feature terminology in common use
> within a particular research field or subfield. We are happy to say that
> three groups are now building or planning HED library schema: (1) for
> language, (2) for cinematic stimulation, and (3) to provide an open-source
> system for recording and analyzing stored and shared data from clinical EEG
> examinations, by adapting the internationally recognized SCORE vocabulary
> used by clinical neurophysiologists to describe, e.g., alpha bursts, ictal
> events, etc. This SCORE effort is led by Dora Hermes Miller at The Mayo
> Clinics, Rochester MN.  Another group in Salzberg plans to use HED in
> building an Austrian fMRI data resource.
>
>
>       But the work of developing, maintaining, and promoting use of HED
> annotation for stored and shared neuroimaging time series data is just
> beginning – and important technical programming and support tasks need
> funding – hence the importance of our proposed project to continue
> momentum.
>
>
> The NIH proposal deadline is *Sept. 2,* so we will need to put together
> letters of support for the proposal by August 30, latest. Showing that
> there is indeed support for building and promulgating HED in the
> neuroimaging research community is, we believe, essential for our proposal
> to be seen by the review panel for the important effort we believe it to
> be.
>
>
> For more information about HED (3G), see our latest ms. at
>
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.biorxiv.org_content_biorxiv_early_2021_06_14_2021.05.06.442841.full.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=-35OiAkTchMrZOngvJPOeA&r=kB5f6DjXkuOQpM1bq5OFA9kKiQyNm1p6x6e36h3EglE&m=xoZ4GcQT5uqu6EHzl1wjx8Thz1xIXrDwtEijUgL2N2A&s=M7kt-2-558d6h4Iv1Kaxqjo9ZH7qTptKes_KQm1X2EQ&e= 
>
>
> To send a letter expressing support for the HED project, expand on the
> text below and send by email to smakeig at ucsd.edu.
>
>
> Dear Drs. Makeig and Robbins,
>
>
>
> I am writing in support of your proposed *Hierarchical Event Descriptors
> (HED): a system for machine-actionable annotation of events and
> experimental structure in neurobehavioral data* in response to NIH
> RFA-MH-20-128 (*BRAIN Initiative: Standards to Define Experiments Related
> to the BRAIN Initiative*). ...
>
>
> Thanking you for your consideration,        Scott
> --
> Scott Makeig, Research Scientist and Director, Swartz Center for
> Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation, University of
> California San Diego, La Jolla CA 92093-0559, http://sccn.ucsd.edu/~scott
>


-- 
Scott Makeig, Research Scientist and Director, Swartz Center for
Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation, University of
California San Diego, La Jolla CA 92093-0559, http://sccn.ucsd.edu/~scott