NESTML is a domain-specific language that supports the specification of neuron models in a precise and concise syntax. It was developed to address the maintainability issues that follow from an increasing number of models, model variants, and an increased model complexity in computational neuroscience. Our aim is to ease the modelling process for neuroscientists both with and without prior training in computer science.

This is achieved without compromising on performance by automatic source-code generation, allowing the same model file to target different hardware or software platforms by changing only a command-line parameter. While originally developed in the context of NEST Simulator, the language itself as well as the associated toolchain are lightweight, modular and extensible, by virtue of using a parser generator and internal abstract syntax tree (AST) representation, which can be operated on using well-known patterns such as visitors and rewriting.

Model equations can either be given as a simple string of mathematical notation or as an algorithm written in the built-in procedural language. The equations are analyzed by the associated toolchain ODE-toolbox, to compute an exact solution if possible or to invoke an appropriate numeric solver otherwise.

How to run NESTML tutorials on EBRAINS lab?

1. Go to https://lab.ebrains.eu

    

2. Next, clone a repo from the remote Git repository "https://github.com/nest/nestml" (See red arrow).

    

   

    

   If you want to have it persistently, cloned it into your drive folder "/drive/My Libraries/".

    

3. After cloning, you can find tutorials in the folder: "nestml/doc/tutorials".

    

   

    

4. When you start a notebook, select kernel: "EBRAINS-25.02" (or later).

    

   

    

5. Have fun with it!

Suggested tutorials to begin

• Neuron model: Izhikevich
• Synapse model: STDP windows

References

• NEST Simulator - https://nest-simulator.readthedocs.io
• NESTML - https://nestml.readthedocs.io/ 

Acknowledgements

This software was initially supported by the JARA-HPC Seed Fund NESTML - A modeling language for spiking neuron and synapse models for NEST and the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association and the Helmholtz Portfolio Theme Simulation and Modeling for the Human Brain.

This software was developed in part or in whole in the Human Brain Project, funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under Specific Grant Agreements No. 720270, No. 785907 and No. 945539 (Human Brain Project SGA1, SGA2 and SGA3).

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme under the Specific Grant Agreement No. 101147319 (EBRAINS 2.0 Project).

This research has received funding by the Helmholtz Association through the Helmholtz Portfolio Theme Supercomputing and Modeling for the Human Brain.

Neuron and synapse illustration: copyright Angela Fischer, INM-6, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH (CC-BY-SA)