G-Node: An integrated tool-sharing platform to support cellular and systems neurophysiology in the age of global neuroinformatics

The global scale of neuroinformatics offers unprecedented opportunities for scientific collaborations between and among experimental and theoretical neuroscientists. To fully harvest these possibilities, a set of coordinated activities is required that will improve three key ingredients of neuroscientific research: data access, data storage, and data analysis, together with supporting activities for teaching and training. Focusing on the development of tools aiming at neurophysiological data, the newly established German Neuroinformatics Node (G-Node) aims at addressing these aspects as part of the International Neuroinformatics Coordination Facility (INCF). Based on its technical and scientific scope, the Node could play a substantial role for cellular and systems neurophysiology as well as for the neuroscience community at large.