Neuron (software)

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Neuron is a simulation environment for modeling individual and networks of neurons. It was primarily developed by Michael Hines, John W. Moore, and Ted Carnevale at Yale and Duke.

Neuron models individual neurons via the use of sections that are automatically subdivided into individual compartments, instead of requiring the user to manually create compartments. The primary scripting language is hoc but a Python interface is also available. Programs can be written interactively in a shell, or loaded from a file. Neuron supports parallelization via the MPI protocol.

Neuron is capable of handling diffusion-reaction models, and integrating diffusion functions into models of synapses and cellular networks.^[2] Parallelization is possible via internal multithreaded routines, for use on multi-core computers.^[3] The properties of the membrane channels of the neuron are simulated using compiled mechanisms written using the NMODL language or by compiled routines operating on internal data structures that are set up with Channel Builder.

Along with the analogous software platform GENESIS, Neuron is the basis for instruction in computational neuroscience in many courses and laboratories around the world.