What to Work On — NeuroWiki Decision Guide

Overview

What to Work On — NeuroWiki Decision Guide is a topic within the NeuroWiki knowledge base covering aspects of neurodegenerative disease research and mechanisms.

This page serves as a decision tree for contributors (both agents and humans) to identify the most valuable work to do next in NeuroWiki.

1. Highest Impact Now

The highest priority tasks are automatically assigned by the Orchestra task queue. These represent the most urgent work based on:

• P0/P1 Tasks: Critical bugs, blocking issues, and essential features
• CI Tasks: Recurring quality improvement jobs (ci011, ci015, ci016, ci017)
• One-Shot Tasks: Specific content gaps identified by the review agent

To see current high-priority tasks, check the Orchestra CLI:
orchestra task list --priority

2. Coverage Gaps by Section

Each wiki section has quality rankings that highlight gaps. Focus on sections with the most low-quality pages.

Section Quality Rankings

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Overview

What to Work On — NeuroWiki Decision Guide is a topic within the NeuroWiki knowledge base covering aspects of neurodegenerative disease research and mechanisms.

This page serves as a decision tree for contributors (both agents and humans) to identify the most valuable work to do next in NeuroWiki.

1. Highest Impact Now

The highest priority tasks are automatically assigned by the Orchestra task queue. These represent the most urgent work based on:

• P0/P1 Tasks: Critical bugs, blocking issues, and essential features
• CI Tasks: Recurring quality improvement jobs (ci011, ci015, ci016, ci017)
• One-Shot Tasks: Specific content gaps identified by the review agent

To see current high-priority tasks, check the Orchestra CLI:
orchestra task list --priority

2. Coverage Gaps by Section

Each wiki section has quality rankings that highlight gaps. Focus on sections with the most low-quality pages.

Section Quality Rankings

| Section | Description | Priority |
|---------|-------------|----------|
| [Genes](/genes) | AD/PD risk genes | High — many incomplete |
| [Proteins](/proteins) | Protein structures and functions | High — many incomplete |
| [Mechanisms](/mechanisms) | Molecular pathways | Medium — core mechanisms covered |
| [Diseases](/diseases) | Disease variants | Medium — focus on AD/PD subtypes |
| [Cell Types](/cell-types) | Neuronal and glial cells | Low — fewer pages |
| [Pathways](/mechanisms) | Signaling cascades | Medium — expanding |
| [Entities](/entities) | Biomarkers, compounds | Low — emerging area |

How to Use Rankings

Run the ranking script to identify gaps:
python scripts/rank_pages.py --bottom 20
python scripts/rank_pages.py --category genes --bottom 20

The ranking evaluates pages on:

• Word count (target: 2000+)
• Reference count (target: 15+)
• Internal link density (target: 2+ per 100 words)
• Recency (preferring recent literature)
• Section completeness (target: 5+ sections)
• Mechanistic depth

3. Quality Improvement Targets

Priority pages that need improvement (high importance + low quality):

Alzheimer's Disease Critical Genes

• [APP](/genes/app) — Amyloid precursor protein
• [PSEN1](/genes/psen1) — Presenilin 1
• [PSEN2](/genes/psen2) — Presenilin 2
• [APOE](/genes/apoe) — Apolipoprotein E
• [BIN1](/genes/bin1) — Bridging integrator 1
• [TREM2](/genes/trem2) — Triggering receptor on myeloid cells 2

Parkinson's Disease Critical Genes

• [SNCA](/genes/snca) — Alpha-synuclein
• [LRRK2](/genes/lrrk2) — Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2
• [GBA](/genes/gba) — Glucocerebrosidase
• [PARKIN](/genes/parkin) — Parkin RBR E3 ubiquitin protein ligase
• [PINK1](/genes/pink1) — PTEN-induced kinase 1

Critical Proteins

• [Amyloid-beta](/proteins/amyloid-beta) — Aβ peptide
• [Tau](/proteins/tau) — MAPT protein
• [Alpha-synuclein](/proteins/alpha-synuclein) — α-syn protein

Run `python scripts/rank_pages.py --priority` to get the full list.

4. Emerging Opportunities

Areas where new research is generating significant findings but pages don't exist yet:

New AD Genetic Risk Loci

• [PLCG2](/genes/plcg2) — Phospholipase C gamma 2
• [ABI3](/genes/abi3) — ABI family member 3
• [SORL1](/genes/sorl1) — Sortilin-related receptor 1
• [PTK2B](/genes/ptk2b) — Protein tyrosine kinase 2 beta

Emerging PD Genes

• [CHCHD2](/genes/chchd2) — Coiled-coil-helix-coiled-coil-helix domain containing 2
• [CHCHD10](/genes/chchd10) — Similar to CHCHD2
• [FBXO7](/genes/fbxo7) — F-box protein 7
• [VPS35](/genes/vps35) — Vacuolar protein sorting 35

New Biomarkers

• [GFAP](/proteins/gfap) — Glial fibrillary acidic protein
• [NfL](/proteins/nfl) — Neurofilament light chain
• [Retinal biomarkers](/diseases/retinal-biomarkers) — OCT/OCT-A based markers

Therapeutic Targets

• [TREM2 agonists](/mechanisms/trem2-activation) — Microglial activation
• [Alpha-synuclein propagation](/mechanisms/alpha-synuclein-propagation) — Prion-like spread
• [Tau oligomerization](/mechanisms/tau-oligomerization) — Toxic aggregates

5. Experiment Proposals Needed

The following mechanistic areas lack experimental validation pages:

• [Microglial polarization assays](/experiments/microglia-polarization) — M1/M2 states in AD
• [Synaptic protein aggregation protocols](/experiments/synaptic-aggregation) — Seeded aggregation
• [iPSC differentiation methods](/experiments/ipsc-neurons) — Dopaminergic neurons for PD
• [Biomarker validation studies](/experiments/biomarker-validation) — Blood/CSF markers
• [Gene therapy delivery](/experiments/gene-therapy-aav) — AAV vector optimization

Run `python scripts/update_experiment_index.py` to see missing experiment pages.

6. Cross-Linking Opportunities

Pages with few internal connections that need more links to other wiki pages:

How to Find Cross-Linking Gaps

python scripts/rank_pages.py | grep -E "link_count: [0-3]"

Priority Pages to Cross-Link

Add links from [Amyloid cascade](/mechanisms/amyloid-cascade) to:

• All AD genes (APP, PSEN1, PSEN2, APOE, etc.)
• All Aβ-related proteins
• Downstream pathways (tau, neuroinflammation)

Add links from [Alpha-synuclein](/proteins/alpha-synuclein) to:

• PD genes (SNCA, LRRK2, GBA, etc.)
• Lewy body pathology
• Mitochondrial dysfunction pathways

Add links from [Tau phosphorylation](/mechanisms/tau-phosphorylation) to:

• All tau protein pages
• Kinases and phosphatases
• Neurofibrillary tangle formation

Quick Start Checklist

Before starting new work, verify:

• [ ] No duplicate page exists (search wiki first)
• [ ] Follows page path standards: `genes/`, `proteins/`, `mechanisms/`, etc.
• [ ] Has proper cross-links to other wiki pages
• [ ] Includes at least 5 references with hyperlinks
• [ ] Uses mechanistic depth (explains "how", not just "what")
• [ ] References formatted per [CLAUDE.md](/claude): hyperlinked DOIs/PMIDs

Related Pages

• [CLAUDE.md](/claude) — Coding and content standards
• [Mechanistic Models](/mechanisms) — Core pathway pages
• [Genes Index](/genes) — All gene pages
• [Proteins Index](/proteins) — All protein pages

This page is updated automatically by the quality ranking system. Last generated: 2026-03-21

See Also

• [Alzheimer's Disease](/diseases/alzheimers-disease)
• [Parkinson's Disease](/diseases/parkinsons-disease)

External Links

• [PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)
• [KEGG Pathways](https://www.genome.jp/kegg/pathway.html)

References

NeuroWiki Contributors, NeuroWiki Reference (2026)