North America
North America has been a major source of open neuroscience data infrastructure, large-scale open datasets, and funding programmes that have driven open data sharing in the field. Canada has developed a distinct open neuroscience infrastructure centred on federated data sharing and open science institutional policy.
United States
Funding and Policy
The principal open science mandates applicable to US and Canadian researchers are summarised below.
| Who | What is required | For whom | In force since |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIH Open Science Policy | Data management and sharing plan, deposit of scientific data in an accessible repository | All NIH-funded researchers | January 2023 |
| NIH Public Access Policy | Immediate open access to publications, no embargo | All NIH-funded researchers | December 2025 |
| NIH BRAIN Initiative | NWB format for funded electrophysiology data, BIDS for neuroimaging | NIH BRAIN Initiative-funded researchers | 2018 |
| Canadian Tri-Agency (SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC) | Research data management strategy required, data deposit after project end | All Tri-Agency-funded researchers in Canada | March 2021 |
The NIH Open Science Policy (NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, effective 2023) requires all NIH-funded researchers to submit a data management and sharing plan and to deposit scientific data in an accessible repository. The NIH Public Access Policy additionally requires open access to all NIH-funded publications, with immediate open access mandated for new awards from December 2025. The NIH BRAIN Initiative, launched in 2013, is a major driver of open neuroscience data infrastructure in the US, funding DANDI Archive, mandating NWB for electrophysiology data, and supporting the development of BIDS.
Key Data Platforms
OpenNeuro (Stanford) is an open repository for human neuroimaging data in BIDS format. DANDI Archive is the repository for NWB-formatted neurophysiology data. PhysioNet (MIT Laboratory for Computational Physiology) is an open repository for physiological signal and clinical data, hosting EDF EEG and polysomnography recordings, the WFDB signal-processing libraries, and the widely used MIMIC critical-care database. NeMO Archive hosts single-cell and spatial genomics data from BICAN and related consortia. NeuroMorpho.Org (George Mason University) is the primary open archive for digitally reconstructed neuron and glia morphologies, with over 180,000 reconstructions as of 2024. Synapse AMP-AD (Sage Bionetworks) is the central open data platform for Alzheimer’s and psychiatric disorder multiomics. dbGaP handles controlled-access human genomics data. NeuroVault hosts statistical brain maps and atlases.
Key Institutes and Consortia
The Allen Institute for Brain Science produces landmark open datasets including the Allen Brain Atlas, Cell Types Database, and MindScope Neuropixels datasets, all deposited in DANDI Archive. BICAN (BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network) is building a comprehensive multi-resolution mammalian brain cell atlas, with data in NeMO Archive and CELLxGENE. ADNI (Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative) is a foundational open longitudinal neuroimaging and biomarker cohort. Mount Sinai Neuroscience leads the CommonMind Consortium and PsychENCODE brain genomics programmes. The IBL (International Brain Laboratory) is an international consortium producing open large-scale electrophysiology data in NWB format. NIH BRAIN Initiative also funded the Human Connectome Project, which produced landmark open MRI datasets and developed the CIFTI format for dense connectome data.
Reproducibility Infrastructure
The Center for Open Neuroscience (CON) at Dartmouth is the primary developing institution for DataLad and co-leads the DANDI Archive. Its director serves on the BIDS Steering Committee and the NWB technical advisory committee. CON also co-develops EMBER Archive, the official BRAIN Initiative data archive for the BBQS programme. ReproNim develops the NIDM provenance standard and integrates DataLad into reproducible neuroimaging workflows.
Canada
Canada’s open neuroscience ecosystem is anchored by two complementary initiatives. CONP (Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform) is the national federated data portal aggregating datasets from Canadian and international sources in BIDS format. TOSI (The Neuro Open Science in Action) at the Montreal Neurological Institute is the institutional model for open science adoption, operating C-BIG and LORIS and running a Canadian Open Science Alliance of institutes that have adopted its principles. Ontario Brain Institute operates Brain-CODE, a large-scale neuroinformatics platform, and is a founding sponsor of CONP.