Definition
Brian (http://briansimulator.org) is an open source Python package for developing simulations of networks of spiking neurons (Goodman and Brette 2008, 2009). The design is aimed at minimizing users’ development time, with execution speed as secondary goal. Users specify neuron and synapse models by giving their equations in standard mathematical form, create groups of neurons, and connect them via synapses. The intent is to make the process as flexible as possible so that researchers are not restricted to using neuron and synapse models already built into the simulator. The entire simulator is written in Python, using the NumPy and SciPy numerical and scientific computing packages. Parts of the simulator can optionally be run using C++ code generated on the fly (Goodman 2010). Computationally, Brian uses vectorization techniques (Brette and Goodman 2011) so that for large numbers of neurons, execution speed is of the same order of magnitude as C++ code (Goodman and Brette 2008...
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References
Brette R, Goodman DFM (2011) Vectorized algorithms for spiking neural network simulation. Neural Comput 23(6):1503–1535
Fontaine B, Goodman DFM, Benichoux V, Brette R (2011) Brian hears: online auditory processing using vectorization over channels. Front Neuroinform 5:9
Goodman DFM (2010) Code generation: a strategy for neural network simulators. Neuroinformatics 8(3):183–196
Goodman DFM, Brette R (2008) Brian: a simulator for spiking neural networks in Python. Front Neuroinform 2:5
Goodman DFM, Brette R (2009) The Brian simulator. Front Neurosci 3(2):192–197
Rossant C, Goodman DFM, Platkiewicz J, Brette R (2010) Automatic fitting of spiking neuron models to electrophysiological recordings. Front Neuroinform 4:2
Rossant C, Goodman DFM, Platkiewicz J, Magnusson AK, Brette R (2011) Fitting neuron models to spike trains. Front Neurosci 5:9
Further Reading
Brette R (2012) On the design of script languages for neural simulation. Network 23(4):150–156
Brette R, Goodman DFM (2012) Simulating spiking neural networks on GPU. Network 23(4):167–182
Markram H, Wang Y, Tsodyks M (1998) Differential signaling via the same axon of neocortical pyramidal neurons. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95(9):5323–5328
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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Goodman, D.F.M., Brette, R. (2013). Brian Spiking Neural Network Simulator. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_253-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_253-4
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Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6
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