CON²PHYS: CONceptual CONsistency in ePHYS

One dataset, one questionnaire, many truths

CON²PHYS is a collaborative study that aims to quantify how much, or how little, consensus exists among neuroscientists when interpreting fundamental in vivo electrophysiology concepts.

This project stems from the conviction that systems neuroscience is becoming an increasingly fragmented field. Terms like “representation”, “functional connectivity” or “gamma oscillations” sound universal, yet their definitions and implementations vary widely depending on who you ask.

Do these differences make a difference? That’s precisely the empirical question that CON²PHYS will answer.

How does the project work?

We will give you a single dataset to analyze and 15 multiple-choice questions to answer. The questions are seemingly straightforward and deliberately underspecified, and you will answer them using your own assumptions and pipelines. The goal is to reveal how our everyday analytical choices – often arbitrary, often invisible – might ultimately lead to different results.

Participation is open to all neuroscientists with substantial prior systems neuroscience experience regardless of the subdiscipline: from computational to molecular neuroscience, and everything in between. Participation comes with a concrete incentive: you are expected to invest roughly 30–50 hours of work and will be included as co-author on the main CON²PHYS manuscript.

Project timeline

The CON²PHYS project is now open for participation. You can submit your analyses and questionnaire responses until 30 September 2026.

Ready to get started? Go to How to Participate to find out how this works in practice.

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