An efficient simulation environment for modeling large-scale cortical processing

We have developed a spiking neural network simulator, which is both easy to use and computationally efficient, for the generation of large-scale computational neuroscience models. The simulator implements current or conductance based Izhikevich neuron networks, having Spike-Timing Dependent Plastic...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Micah eRichert, Jayram Moorkanikara Nageswaran, Nikil eDutt, Jeffrey L Krichmar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2011-09-01
Series:Frontiers in Neuroinformatics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fninf.2011.00019/full
Description
Summary:We have developed a spiking neural network simulator, which is both easy to use and computationally efficient, for the generation of large-scale computational neuroscience models. The simulator implements current or conductance based Izhikevich neuron networks, having Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity (STDP) and Short-Term Plasticity (STP). It uses a standard network construction interface. The simulator allows for execution on either GPUs or CPUs. The simulator, which is written in C/C++, allows for both fine grain and coarse grain specificity of a host of parameters. We demonstrate the ease of use and computational efficiency of this model by implementing a large-scale model of cortical areas V1, V4 and area MT. The complete model, which has 138,240 neurons and approximately 30 million synapses, runs in real-time on an off-the-shelf GPU. The simulator source code, as well as the source code for the cortical model examples is publicly available.
ISSN:1662-5196