My colleagues have a database that was built with an earlier version of brainstorm (091025).
I am running the latest build (030526) for the first time in MATLAB and when I attempt add our database I get the notification:
”Warning: You are running a newer version of Brainstorm. Some modifications have to be performed on your database.”
What exactly are those modifications? We are hesitant to “update database” without knowing the extent of the changes, whether changes would be made to sensor coordinates, patient data, etc
You can update your database without any further problem.
Below the detailed technical explanation in case you want to dive into it:
Indeed, last year in 02-Sep-2025 there was an update in the database structure to add information in the HeadModel files about the method that was used to compute NIRS headmodel (if available). This modifies only the database structure, which is metadata that Brainstorm reads form the actual files in your database (i.e., in your Protocol folder).
As you can see, this change will not modify any of the existent data in your database. It updates only the information loaded from headmodels files to contain the NIRSMethod field (even if empty).
Something to keep in mind is that once the database structure is updated, you will not be able to directly [1] open the updated protocol with an older version of Brainstorm (older than Sep 2025). This is because, the updated metadata is saved in the protocol.mat file in the Protocol folder, and Brainstorm uses that file.
[1] The update protocol can be open by an older version of Brainstorm, if the protocol.mat is rebuilt by the older version. Though we not recommend using older versions. See this other post: