An interactive environment for designing your own experiments. Upload visual stimuli, run models, and explore predicted brain responses across regions of interest.
Compare model performance across training sources, regions of interest, and datasets, and see how models generalize.
@article{zeroshot2026,
title = {Zero-shot evaluations expose structured generalization limits in predictive models of the brain},
author = {Wang, Ruolin and Deb, Mayukh and Abate, Alex and Dipani, Alish and Dudipala, Kushal R and Chillarege, Sanjana and Ravikanti, Kruthik and Li, Yuxuan and Al-Tahan, Haider and Koushik, Ranjani and Mieczkowski, Elizabeth and Fung, Herrick and Kanwisher, Nancy and Murty, N. Apurva Ratan},
year = {2026},
venue = {bioRxiv},
venueshort = {bioRxiv},
status = {preprint},
tags = {Analysis, Benchmark},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.751562v1},
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.15.751562},
takeaway = {Scoring brain encoding models on experiments they were never fitted to exposes generalization limits that standard within-dataset evaluation hides.}
}
Cortex is a unique platform that makes it simple to run neuroscience experiments and explore how AI models predict brain activity. With pre-trained models and neuroscience datasets already built in, you can skip the heavy setup and immediately start testing hypotheses, benchmarking models, and uncovering insights that connect AI and the human brain.
There are many ways to join the Cortex community: as a contributor, researcher, or developer. You can add datasets, collaborate on experiments, or help enhance platform features. Every contribution helps advance the science of brain–AI alignment.
Cortex offers two main ways to dive in: the Lab, where you can upload your own stimuli and run experiments with different models and brain regions, and the Scoreboard, where you can compare models across datasets and see which ones best explain neural responses.
Cortex only processes the stimuli you upload for the purpose of running experiments. Any temporary files are used only to generate predictions and results during your session.
You can share new datasets by reaching out to the Cortex team. Contributed datasets should include paired image stimuli and brain response data and follow ethical and reproducibility standards. Once validated, your dataset becomes part of the platform.
Cortex currently includes core visual neuroscience regions such as the Fusiform Face Area (FFA), the Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA), and the Extrastriate Body Area (EBA). More regions will be added as new datasets become available.