In this paper, the results of a comparative analysis between different approaches to experimental data storage and processing are presented. Several studies related to the problem and some methods for solving it have been discussed. Different types of databases, ways of using them and the areas of their application are analyzed. For the purposes of the study, a relational database for storing and analyzing a specific data from behavioral experiments was designed. The methodology and conditions for conducting the experiments are described. Three different indicators were analyzed, respectively: memory required to store the data, time to load the data from an external file into computer memory and iteration time across all records through one cycle. The obtained results show that for storing a large number of records (in the order of tens of millions of rows), either dynamic arrays (stored on external media in binary file format), or an approach based on a local or remote database management system can be used. Regarding the data loading time, the fastest approach was the one that uses dynamic arrays. It outperforms significantly the approaches based on a local or remote database. The obtained results show that the dynamic arrays and the local data sets approaches iterated much faster across all data records than the remote database approach. The paper concludes with proposal for further developments towards using of web services.

The paper presents a hierarchical spike timing neural network model developed in NEST simulator aimed to reproduce human decision making in simplified simulated visual navigation tasks. It includes multiple layers starting from retina photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells (RGC) via thalamic relay including lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), and interneurons (IN) mediating connections to the higher brain areas—visual cortex (V1), middle temporal (MT), and medial superior temporal (MTS) areas, involved in dorsal pathway processing of spatial and dynamic visual information. The last layer—lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP)—is responsible for decision making and organization of the subsequent motor response (saccade generation). We simulated two possible decision options having LIP layer with two sub-regions with mutual inhibitory connections whose increased firing rate corresponds to the perceptual decision about motor response—left or right saccade. Each stage of the model was tested by appropriately chosen stimuli corresponding to its selectivity to specific stimulus characteristics (orientation for V1, direction for MT, and expansion/contraction movement templates for MST, respectively). The overall model performance was tested with stimuli simulating optic flow patterns of forward self-motion on a linear trajectory to the left or to the right from straight ahead with a gaze in the direction of heading.

This paper presents the results obtained from a comparative analysis of two methods for experimental data sharing. Several works related to the topic and some approaches for processing data have been discussed. Different technolgoies related to the web services, ways of using them and the areas of their application are analyzed. For the purposes of the study, a web service for retrieving specific data from a behavioral experiments database was developed.The methodology and conditions for conducting the experiments are described. Two different indicators are analyzed, respectively: time to retrieve the data from a database and iteration time across all records through one loop. The results show that when retrieving thousands of records both web service based approach and an approach based on a remote database server can be used. However, when retrieving millions of records, the fastest approach was the one that uses remote database server. The obtainedresultsshow that the dynamic arrays (containing strings) iterated much faster across all data records than the dataset approach.