The rules (such as they are):
1. This is an academic research project, not a contest in the traditional sense. There are no prizes for the participants other than the satisfaction of having contributed to a very difficult scientific problem. (This might change in the future...)
2. To ensure that we will be able to give each entry serious consideration, this contest will be limited to those working in computational neuroscience. For this reason these data will only be distributed to qualified personnel at academic and research institutions.
3. To enter the contest, please see the instructions on the contacts page.
4. After your application is accepted you will receive further instructions regarding how to obtain the challenge data sets.
5. Computational neural models are being developed and improved all the time. Therefore, the contest is set up as a rolling project with no defined end date. Entries will be processed and evaluated as they are submitted. (We are working scientists with many other responsibilities, so we offer no guarantees that we will be able to evaluate predictions on any specific schedule.)
6. Results of the prediction challenge will be posted anonymously and/or in aggregate form. Results of predictions will be posted using an anonymous nickname. Contestants will remain anonymous.
7. Contestants who submit extremely good predictions may be contacted by us or by the laboratory that contributed the Challenge data for further discussion about potential collaborations.
8. Challenge data may not be published without the express prior permission of the laboratory that contributed the original data (the contributing laboratory). This restriction is being enforced for the protection of both you and the contributing laboratory. Obviously, the contributing laboratory has a vested interest in ensuring that their data are described accurately and completely; it would be in no one's interest to publish misinformation about the data themselves or the conditions under which they were collected. In addition, some of the Challenge data may be covered by regulations or other restrictions. Because of the complexity of neural data we believe that the only way that accuracy can be assured is if the contributing laboratory takes part in any publication of their data. We leave it to you and the contributing laboratory to negotiate the terms of publication. The contributing laboratory may simply require pre-review of the paper, or they may request that you include citation(s) to relevant paper(s), or in some cases they may require a co-authorship. To ensure that this rule is followed, we have intentionally ommitted many details about the data sets. We believe that Challenge data are unpublishable without these details. Thus, if you want to publish Challenge data you will need to contact the contributing laboratory in order to obtain the necessary information.
9. We place no restrictions whatsoever on publication of theoretical papers that describe a predictive model used in the Neural Prediction Challenge, but which does not contain data from the Challenge. Contestants may cite the prediction scores that the model achieves in the Challenge, as long as this web site is cited and the data set that was used in prediction is noted.
8. We work for the Regents of the University of California, and we therefore must include the following official UC disclaimer:
Copyright ©, the Regents of the University of California (Regents). All Rights Reserved. Permission to use, copy, and modify this software and its documentation for educational, research, and not-for-profit purposes, without fee and without a signed licensing agreement, is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice, this paragraph and the following two paragraphs appear in all copies and modifications. Contact The Office of Technology Licensing, UC Berkeley, 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 510, Berkeley, CA 94720-1620, (510) 643-7201, for commercial licensing opportunities.
IN NO EVENT SHALL REGENTS BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF REGENTS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
REGENTS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION, IF ANY, PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS PROVIDED "AS IS". REGENTS HAS NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.
