


These devices write their data either to memory or to file. To manipulate or observe the network dynamics, the experimenter can define so-called devices which represent the various instruments (for measuring and stimulation) found in an experiment. Thus, the connectivity can in general not be described by a weight or connectivity matrix but rather as an adjacency list. Any two neurons can have multiple connections with different properties. In a NEST network, different neuron and synapse models can coexist. The neural system is defined by a possibly large number of neurons and their connections. While you define your simulations in Python, the actual simulation is executed within NEST's highly optimized simulation kernel which is written in C++.Ī NEST simulation tries to follow the logic of an electrophysiological experiment that takes place inside a computer with the difference, that the neural system to be investigated must be defined by the experimenter. You can also complement PyNEST with PyNN, a simulator-independent set of Python commands to formulate and run neural simulations. With these commands, you describe and run your network simulation. PyNEST provides a set of commands to the Python interpreter which give you access to NEST's simulation kernel. You can use NEST either with the interpreted programming language Python (PyNEST) or as a stand alone application ( nest).

> NEST information brochure ( PDF) How do I use NEST? > NEST:: documented movie (short version, long version) laminar cortical networks or balanced random networks,
