This repository contains the code for the BrainEffeX web app for exploring fMRI effect sizes.
Effect size estimation is crucial for power analysis and experiment deisgn, but poses unique challenges in fMRI research due to the complexity of the data and analysis techniques. Here, we utalized large fMRI datasets to obtain precise univariate and multivariate effect size estimates from "typical" fMRI study designs: brain-behavior correlation, task vs. rest, and between-group analyses of functional connecitivity and task-based activation maps. This is an interactive web application for exploring these effect maps.
The preprint for this web app is available on OSF.
Relavent files:
BrainEffeX/
└── data # Data structures
└── figures # Visualizations of effect size estimates displayed on app
└── for_contributors # Intructions for contributors
├── README.md # Project overview and usage
├── app.R # Main script that launches the Shiny app
├── helpers.R # Functions called in server.R
├── modals.R # Functions to generate modal dialogs
├── server.R # Contains the logic for the app
├── ui.R # Defines the layout and apperance of the app
Group level statistical maps are computed and converted to effect size estimates using scripts within the calculate_effeX repository.
The resulting effect size maps are avaliable on OSF, as they exceed GitHub's file size limitations.
Figures are created with the create_figures/generate_figures.R script from the calculate_effeX repository. The figures are saved in the figures directory and then loaded into BrainEffeX.
The R package containing useful functions used in this app (and in related publications) can be found in the BrainEffeX_utils Repository.
To support BrainEffeX as a growing resource, we welcome contributions of large sample fMRI datasets (n>400). Data should be provided at the subject level, after preproccessing and computation of functional connectivity or task-based activiation.
- If you have data to contribute to the app, please see the README.md file in the 'for_contributors' folder within this repository.
- If you'd like to contribute features to the BrainEffeX app, please submit a pull request.
For any questions or feedback, please submit an issue or contact us by email: [email protected]
- Clone this repository to your computer
- Install the Shiny package in RStudio
- Open the cloned repo directory in RStudio
- Open the app.R file
- Click 'run app' button in the top-right corner of the script window to launch the app
If you use this pipeline in your work, please cite both the preprint and the current version of the app:
Shearer, et al. (2025). BrainEffeX: A Web App for Exploring fMRI Effect Sizes. OSF. doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/kryn4_v3
The DOI for the current version of the app is
