NeurodataWithoutBorders · ehennestad · Mar 10, 2026 · Mar 10, 2026 · Mar 10, 2026 · Mar 10, 2026
diff --git a/+types/+core/ElectrodeGroup.m b/+types/+core/ElectrodeGroup.m
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 classdef ElectrodeGroup < types.core.NWBContainer & types.untyped.GroupClass
-% ELECTRODEGROUP - A physical grouping of electrodes, e.g. a shank of an array.
+% ELECTRODEGROUP - A physical grouping of electrodes, e.g., a shank of an array. An electrode group is typically used to describe electrodes that are physically connected on a single device and are often (but not always) used together for analysis, such as for spike sorting. Note that this is descriptive metadata; electrodes from different groups can still be spike-sorted together if needed.
 %
 % Required Properties:
 %  description, device, location

diff --git a/+types/+core/ElectrodesTable.m b/+types/+core/ElectrodesTable.m
@@ -16,12 +16,12 @@
     group_name; %  (VectorData) Name of the ElectrodeGroup this electrode is a part of.
     imp; %  (VectorData) Impedance of the channel, in ohms.
     reference; %  (VectorData) Description of the reference electrode and/or reference scheme used for this electrode, e.g., "stainless steel skull screw" or "online common average referencing".
-    rel_x; %  (VectorData) x coordinate in electrode group
-    rel_y; %  (VectorData) y coordinate in electrode group
-    rel_z; %  (VectorData) z coordinate in electrode group
-    x; %  (VectorData) x coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+x is posterior).
-    y; %  (VectorData) y coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+y is inferior).
-    z; %  (VectorData) z coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+z is right).
+    rel_x; %  (VectorData) x coordinate in electrode group. Units should be specified in microns.
+    rel_y; %  (VectorData) y coordinate in electrode group. Units should be specified in microns.
+    rel_z; %  (VectorData) z coordinate in electrode group. Units should be specified in microns.
+    x; %  (VectorData) x coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+x is posterior). Units should be specified in microns.
+    y; %  (VectorData) y coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+y is inferior). Units should be specified in microns.
+    z; %  (VectorData) z coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+z is right). Units should be specified in microns.
 end
 
 methods
@@ -50,21 +50,23 @@
         %
         %  - location (VectorData) - Location of the electrode (channel). Specify the area, layer, comments on estimation of area/layer, stereotaxic coordinates if in vivo, etc. Use standard atlas names for anatomical regions when possible.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - reference (VectorData) - Description of the reference electrode and/or reference scheme used for this electrode, e.g., "stainless steel skull screw" or "online common average referencing".
         %
-        %  - rel_x (VectorData) - x coordinate in electrode group
+        %  - rel_x (VectorData) - x coordinate in electrode group. Units should be specified in microns.
         %
-        %  - rel_y (VectorData) - y coordinate in electrode group
+        %  - rel_y (VectorData) - y coordinate in electrode group. Units should be specified in microns.
         %
-        %  - rel_z (VectorData) - z coordinate in electrode group
+        %  - rel_z (VectorData) - z coordinate in electrode group. Units should be specified in microns.
         %
         %  - vectordata (VectorData) - Vector columns, including index columns, of this dynamic table.
         %
-        %  - x (VectorData) - x coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+x is posterior).
+        %  - x (VectorData) - x coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+x is posterior). Units should be specified in microns.
         %
-        %  - y (VectorData) - y coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+y is inferior).
+        %  - y (VectorData) - y coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+y is inferior). Units should be specified in microns.
         %
-        %  - z (VectorData) - z coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+z is right).
+        %  - z (VectorData) - z coordinate of the channel location in the brain (+z is right). Units should be specified in microns.
         %
         % Output Arguments:
         %  - electrodesTable (types.core.ElectrodesTable) - A ElectrodesTable object

diff --git a/+types/+core/ExperimentalConditionsTable.m b/+types/+core/ExperimentalConditionsTable.m
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - repetitions (DynamicTableRegion) - A reference to one or more rows in the RepetitionsTable table.
         %
         %  - repetitions_index (VectorIndex) - Index dataset for the repetitions column.

diff --git a/+types/+core/FrequencyBandsTable.m b/+types/+core/FrequencyBandsTable.m
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - vectordata (VectorData) - Vector columns, including index columns, of this dynamic table.
         %
         % Output Arguments:

diff --git a/+types/+core/IntracellularElectrodesTable.m b/+types/+core/IntracellularElectrodesTable.m
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - vectordata (VectorData) - Vector columns, including index columns, of this dynamic table.
         %
         % Output Arguments:

diff --git a/+types/+core/IntracellularRecordingsTable.m b/+types/+core/IntracellularRecordingsTable.m
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - responses (IntracellularResponsesTable) - Table for storing intracellular response related metadata.
         %
         %  - stimuli (IntracellularStimuliTable) - Table for storing intracellular stimulus related metadata.

diff --git a/+types/+core/IntracellularResponsesTable.m b/+types/+core/IntracellularResponsesTable.m
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - response (TimeSeriesReferenceVectorData) - Column storing the reference to the recorded response for the recording (rows)
         %
         %  - vectordata (VectorData) - Vector columns, including index columns, of this dynamic table.

diff --git a/+types/+core/IntracellularStimuliTable.m b/+types/+core/IntracellularStimuliTable.m
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - stimulus (TimeSeriesReferenceVectorData) - Column storing the reference to the recorded stimulus for the recording (rows).
         %
         %  - stimulus_template (TimeSeriesReferenceVectorData) - Column storing the reference to the stimulus template for the recording (rows).

diff --git a/+types/+core/NWBFile.m b/+types/+core/NWBFile.m
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 % READONLY PROPERTIES
 properties(SetAccess = protected)
-    nwb_version = "2.9.0"; %  (char) File version string. Use semantic versioning, e.g. 1.2.1. This will be the name of the format with trailing major, minor and patch numbers.
+    nwb_version = "2.10.0-alpha"; %  (char) File version string. Use semantic versioning, e.g. 1.2.1. This will be the name of the format with trailing major, minor and patch numbers.
 end
 % REQUIRED PROPERTIES
 properties
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
     general_devices_models; %  (DeviceModel) Data acquisition device models.
     general_experiment_description; %  (char) General description of the experiment.
     general_experimenter; %  (char) Name of person(s) who performed the experiment. Can also specify roles of different people involved.
+    general_external_resources; %  (HERD) This is the HERD structure for this specific NWBFile, storing the mapped external resources.
     general_extracellular_ephys; %  (ElectrodeGroup) Physical group of electrodes.
     general_extracellular_ephys_electrodes; %  (ElectrodesTable) A table of all electrodes (i.e. channels) used for recording. Changed in NWB 2.9.0 to use the newly added ElectrodesTable neurodata type instead of a DynamicTable with added columns.
     general_institution; %  (char) Institution(s) where experiment was performed.
@@ -94,6 +95,8 @@
         %
         %  - general_experimenter (char) - Name of person(s) who performed the experiment. Can also specify roles of different people involved.
         %
+        %  - general_external_resources (HERD) - This is the HERD structure for this specific NWBFile, storing the mapped external resources.
+        %
         %  - general_extracellular_ephys (ElectrodeGroup) - Physical group of electrodes.
         %
         %  - general_extracellular_ephys_electrodes (ElectrodesTable) - A table of all electrodes (i.e. channels) used for recording. Changed in NWB 2.9.0 to use the newly added ElectrodesTable neurodata type instead of a DynamicTable with added columns.
@@ -179,7 +182,7 @@
         % Output Arguments:
         %  - nWBFile (types.core.NWBFile) - A NWBFile object
 
-        varargin = [{'nwb_version' '2.9.0'} varargin];
+        varargin = [{'nwb_version' '2.10.0-alpha'} varargin];
         obj = obj@types.core.NWBContainer(varargin{:});
 
 
@@ -196,6 +199,7 @@
         addParameter(p, 'general_devices_models',types.untyped.Set());
         addParameter(p, 'general_experiment_description',[]);
         addParameter(p, 'general_experimenter',[]);
+        addParameter(p, 'general_external_resources',[]);
         addParameter(p, 'general_extracellular_ephys',types.untyped.Set());
         addParameter(p, 'general_extracellular_ephys_electrodes',[]);
         addParameter(p, 'general_institution',[]);
@@ -248,6 +252,7 @@
         obj.general_devices_models = p.Results.general_devices_models;
         obj.general_experiment_description = p.Results.general_experiment_description;
         obj.general_experimenter = p.Results.general_experimenter;
+        obj.general_external_resources = p.Results.general_external_resources;
         obj.general_extracellular_ephys = p.Results.general_extracellular_ephys;
         obj.general_extracellular_ephys_electrodes = p.Results.general_extracellular_ephys_electrodes;
         obj.general_institution = p.Results.general_institution;
@@ -326,6 +331,9 @@
     function set.general_experimenter(obj, val)
         obj.general_experimenter = obj.validate_general_experimenter(val);
     end
+    function set.general_external_resources(obj, val)
+        obj.general_external_resources = obj.validate_general_external_resources(val);
+    end
     function set.general_extracellular_ephys(obj, val)
         obj.general_extracellular_ephys = obj.validate_general_extracellular_ephys(val);
     end
@@ -496,6 +504,9 @@ function postset_general_source_script_file_name(obj)
         val = types.util.checkDtype('general_experimenter', 'char', val);
         types.util.validateShape('general_experimenter', {[Inf]}, val)
     end
+    function val = validate_general_external_resources(obj, val)
+        val = types.util.checkDtype('general_external_resources', 'types.hdmf_common.HERD', val);
+    end
     function val = validate_general_extracellular_ephys(obj, val)
         namedprops = struct();
         constrained = {'types.core.ElectrodeGroup'};
@@ -702,6 +713,10 @@ function postset_general_source_script_file_name(obj)
             end
         end
         io.writeGroup(fid, [fullpath '/general']);
+        if ~isempty(obj.general_external_resources)
+            refs = obj.general_external_resources.export(fid, [fullpath '/general/external_resources'], refs);
+        end
+        io.writeGroup(fid, [fullpath '/general']);
         if ~isempty(obj.general_extracellular_ephys)
             refs = obj.general_extracellular_ephys.export(fid, [fullpath '/general/extracellular_ephys'], refs);
         end

diff --git a/+types/+core/PlaneSegmentation.m b/+types/+core/PlaneSegmentation.m
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@
         %
         %  - imaging_plane (ImagingPlane) - Link to ImagingPlane object from which this data was generated.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - pixel_mask (VectorData) - Pixel masks for each ROI: a list of indices and weights for the ROI. Pixel masks are concatenated and parsing of this dataset is maintained by the PlaneSegmentation. At least one of `image_mask`, `pixel_mask`, or `voxel_mask` is required.
         %
         %  - pixel_mask_index (VectorIndex) - Index into pixel_mask.

diff --git a/+types/+core/RepetitionsTable.m b/+types/+core/RepetitionsTable.m
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - sequential_recordings (DynamicTableRegion) - A reference to one or more rows in the SequentialRecordingsTable table.
         %
         %  - sequential_recordings_index (VectorIndex) - Index dataset for the sequential_recordings column.

diff --git a/+types/+core/SequentialRecordingsTable.m b/+types/+core/SequentialRecordingsTable.m
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - simultaneous_recordings (DynamicTableRegion) - A reference to one or more rows in the SimultaneousRecordingsTable table.
         %
         %  - simultaneous_recordings_index (VectorIndex) - Index dataset for the simultaneous_recordings column.

diff --git a/+types/+core/SimultaneousRecordingsTable.m b/+types/+core/SimultaneousRecordingsTable.m
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - recordings (DynamicTableRegion) - A reference to one or more rows in the IntracellularRecordingsTable table.
         %
         %  - recordings_index (VectorIndex) - Index dataset for the recordings column.

diff --git a/+types/+core/Subject.m b/+types/+core/Subject.m
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 % OPTIONAL PROPERTIES
 properties
-    age; %  (char) Age of subject. Can be supplied instead of 'date_of_birth'.
+    age; %  (char) Age of subject. Can be supplied instead of 'date_of_birth'. The ISO 8601 Duration format is recommended, e.g., 'P90D' for 90 days old. If the precise age is unknown, an age range can be given by '[lower bound]/[upper bound]' e.g. 'P10D/P20D' would mean that the age is in between 10 and 20 days. If only the lower bound is known, then including only the slash after that lower bound can be used to indicate a missing bound. For instance, 'P90Y/' would indicate that the age is 90 years or older.
     age_reference = "birth"; %  (char) Age is with reference to this event. Can be 'birth' or 'gestational'. If reference is omitted, 'birth' is implied.
     date_of_birth; %  (datetime) Date of birth of subject. Can be supplied instead of 'age'.
     description; %  (char) Description of subject and where subject came from (e.g., breeder, if animal).
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
         %  subject = types.core.SUBJECT(Name, Value) creates a Subject object where one or more property values are specified using name-value pairs.
         %
         % Input Arguments (Name-Value Arguments):
-        %  - age (char) - Age of subject. Can be supplied instead of 'date_of_birth'.
+        %  - age (char) - Age of subject. Can be supplied instead of 'date_of_birth'. The ISO 8601 Duration format is recommended, e.g., 'P90D' for 90 days old. If the precise age is unknown, an age range can be given by '[lower bound]/[upper bound]' e.g. 'P10D/P20D' would mean that the age is in between 10 and 20 days. If only the lower bound is known, then including only the slash after that lower bound can be used to indicate a missing bound. For instance, 'P90Y/' would indicate that the age is 90 years or older.
         %
         %  - age_reference (char) - Age is with reference to this event. Can be 'birth' or 'gestational'. If reference is omitted, 'birth' is implied.
         %

diff --git a/+types/+core/SweepTable.m b/+types/+core/SweepTable.m
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@
         %
         %  - id (ElementIdentifiers) - Array of unique identifiers for the rows of this dynamic table.
         %
+        %  - meanings_tables (MeaningsTable) - MeaningsTable objects that provide meanings for values in VectorData columns within this DynamicTable. Tables should be named according to the column they provide meanings for with a "_meanings" suffix. e.g., if a VectorData column is named "stimulus_type", the corresponding MeaningsTable should be named "stimulus_type_meanings".
+        %
         %  - series (VectorData) - The PatchClampSeries with the sweep number in that row.
         %
         %  - series_index (VectorIndex) - Index for series.