# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussion

• A PNAS study was shared challenging the concept of uniform cortical columns, revealing that cellular architecture in rodent somatosensory cortex is whisker-specific, which questions brain simulation approaches that model cortex as repetitions of identical circuits.

• Participants debated brain modeling methodologies, with some arguing for studying actual brain structure rather than relying on abstract models, suggesting that digitizing real mouse brains might be more effective than creating theoretical models.

• The conversation highlighted challenges in neuroscience data sharing, including how to effectively reference and distribute massive datasets (potentially hundreds of terabytes) and the need for standardized ontologies.

• Fenn shared a technical approach for extracting data from the Merck Index database using mdb-tools, providing the specific command line instructions for others to replicate.

• Participants discussed offline Wikipedia access solutions, with interest in formatting Wikipedia content for e-readers like the Nook, noting limitations in existing approaches.

• Lemminkainen emphasized how academic competition for publication priority undermines scientific collaboration and experiment replication, suggesting online collaboration as a potential solution.

• The prohibitive cost of specialized conferences like FutureMED ($10,000) was identified as a barrier to participation, with suggestions to redirect such resources toward actual research materials.