`/neuroflow:ideation`¶

The very beginning of a research project.

/ideation helps you brainstorm a research question, explore the literature, formalize an existing idea into a project definition, or produce a project proposal document. It's the natural next step after /neuroflow for a new project.

When to use it¶

You have a vague idea and need to think through research questions
You want to search what is already known before committing to a question
You have an idea and want to sharpen it into a concrete, testable research question
You want to produce a written project proposal

Entry points¶

When you run /neuroflow:ideation, Claude asks which mode applies:

1. Brainstorm2. Explore literature3. Formalize4. Proposal

You have a vague idea. Claude helps you narrow it down to a testable research question.

What Claude does: - Asks you to describe your idea in any form - Helps identify key variables (independent, dependent, confounds) - Identifies population and modality - Formulates a clear hypothesis statement

Output: research-question.md saved to .neuroflow/ideation/

Example:

You: I'm interested in how background noise affects EEG-based attention measures.

Claude: Let me help you narrow this down. What kind of attention are you 
        measuring — sustained, selective, or divided?

You: Selective attention — I want to look at P300 amplitude differences.

Claude: Good. Here's a draft research question:

        "Does white noise background (65 dB) reduce P300 amplitude during 
         a visual oddball task compared to silence in healthy adults?"

        Key variables:
        - Independent: noise condition (noise vs. silence)
        - Dependent: P300 amplitude and latency
        - Confounds: hearing threshold, fatigue, time of day

Search PubMed and bioRxiv simultaneously using the inline search protocol (no sub-agent spawned).

No credentials required

PubMed and bioRxiv search works out of the box — no setup needed.

What Claude does: - Runs your topic on both PubMed and bioRxiv - Tries synonym and broader/narrower queries if results are thin - Returns a deduplicated list with ⚠️ preprint and 🔒 paywall markers - Offers follow-up: download, save as markdown, or synthesize

Output: literature-[topic]-[date].md saved to .neuroflow/ideation/

Example output:

PubMed results (5 papers)
─────────────────────────
**N2 and P300 in auditory attention** (2023) — Smith et al.
*NeuroImage* | DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.001
Shows P300 amplitude reduces with cognitive load in selective attention tasks.

bioRxiv results (2 papers)
──────────────────────────
**Noise effects on ERP** (2024) — Jones et al.
*bioRxiv* | DOI: 10.1101/2024.001
⚠️ PREPRINT

Summary: The literature consistently shows P300 attenuation under high 
cognitive load. White noise as a stressor is understudied — gap identified.

You have an idea. Claude sharpens it into a precise, testable research question.

Similar to Brainstorm but focused: Claude takes your existing idea and pressure-tests it for clarity, testability, and novelty.

Produce a structured project proposal document.

Sections: - Research question - Background (from your literature) - Hypothesis - Planned methods - Population and modality - Rough timeline

Output: proposal-[date].md saved to .neuroflow/ideation/

Integration reminders¶

PubMed / bioRxiv — no credentials required, works out of the box.

Miro — if you mention Miro or ask to visualize a mind map, Claude checks MIRO_ACCESS_TOKEN and offers to configure it if missing.

Files read and written¶

Direction	Files
Reads	`.neuroflow/project_config.md`, `.neuroflow/flow.md`, `.neuroflow/ideation/flow.md`, `.neuroflow/integrations.json`
Writes	`.neuroflow/ideation/`, `.neuroflow/ideation/flow.md`, `.neuroflow/sessions/YYYY-MM-DD.md`

/grant-proposal — write a formal grant application after ideation
/experiment — design the paradigm once the research question is clear
/data-analyze — run analysis with results tied back to your hypothesis

/neuroflow:ideation¶