Table 3 Metadata items stored in the repository

A primary key to indicate the study that the file is associated with. This is typically of the form Wong1993, i.e. surname of first author and year of main paper [29].

Species name; most recordings are from mouse, but we also have ferret recordings [29]. Although ages for both animals are given in postnatal days, ferret and mice have different gestational periods, and so cannot be directly compared.

Postnatal age of the animal. For one study [29], adult recordings were represented as age 500 days. (There are currently no embryonic recordings, but these could be represented by negative values; zero is the day of birth.)

Genotype (of the mouse), with the default “wt” indicating a wild-type mouse.

A brief description of the conditions under which the spontaneous activity were made. e.g. some recordings were made in dark reared (“dr”) mice, and sometimes pharmacological agents were used. If no condition is supplied, control (“ctl”) is assumed.