These brain areas coincide with the so-called “default-mode network,” a system preferentially active when subjects engage in internal rather than external processes (Buckner et al., 2008). We hope to impress upon the reader the wealth of findings that can be revealed simply by unhiding data. To encourage the use of this approach, we provide sample MATLAB scripts for hue and transparency coding on our website (http://mialab.mrn.org/datavis). Along with increased annotation,

panel B also displays the beta parameters for individual subjects, averaged over VX-770 solubility dmso clusters of voxels passing significance (Figures 3Bb1 and 3Bb2). The 2D plots remove dependence on color mapping (which is more difficult for viewers to decode than position along an axis; selleckchem Cleveland and McGill, 1985) and allow us to access the data in greater detail. Scatter plots indicate the beta estimates

for each condition (rather than just the difference), reveal the degree of variability across subjects (and the absence of outliers), and validate our “paired” statistical approach, because beta values covary across conditions. A single figure may portray experimental data painstakingly collected over months or even years. Rather than use standard designs such as bar plots and thresholded maps that hide these data, we, as authors, peer reviewers, and editors, can establish new standards for visualizations that reveal data and inform readers. We thank Christian Habeck and James Moeller for commentary that helped to motivate this work, Tom Eichele for his contribution of the EEG data, and Kent Kiehl and Godfrey Pearlson for their contribution

of the fMRI data. We also thank Christian Habeck and Tom Eichele for valuable discussions throughout the completion of this work. “
“All sensory neurons not are alike. Each detects a physical stimulus and produces an electrical signal that gives rise to behavioral responses, conscious perceptions, or both. Many operate near the physical limits of detection and operate over a dynamic range of several orders of magnitude (Bialek, 1987 and Block, 1992). These properties suggest that they are endowed with a detector, an amplifier, and mechanisms for gain control. One of the most striking and well-understood examples is the ability of photoreceptors to detect single photons while retaining sensitivity to light intensities that vary by nine orders of magnitude (Rieke and Rudd, 2009). Each somatosensory neuron is distinct. The somatosensory system is a collection of neurons innervating the skin, muscle, joints, tendons, and internal organs that establish and maintain sensitivity across a range of stimulus intensities and frequencies. This collection includes nociceptors that require stimulation above a high threshold for activation.