Neuron Summer Conference

IBN 98-12317 CARNEVALE 该项目的目的是教科学家如何使用NEURON，这是一种模拟神经细胞和大脑回路功能的强大工具。本课程开辟了一条新的途径，通过它，神经科学研究人员和教师可以学习有效地利用这一重要的新技术。NEURON是一个被广泛接受的仿真工具，专门为生物现实的神经模型设计。 由于它运行在所有领先的计算平台上（UNIX/Linux，MSWindows 3.1，95，98和NT，以及MacOS），几乎所有在该国销售的笔记本电脑和台式微型计算机都能够执行研究质量的模拟。为期五天的暑期实习短期课程将每年举办一次，为期三年。 它将通过电子邮件名单和通过网页公布：www.neuron.yale.edu和www.npaci.edu。 神经元对神经科学界的潜在重要性源于这样一个事实，即所有动物（包括人类）的神经系统都通过涉及分布在空间和时间中的电信号和化学信号的复杂相互作用的计算来执行感知，学习和自适应控制等任务。工程师和计算机科学家早就发现，模拟对于理解非生物计算机的运行是不可或缺的。然而，用于模拟计算机硬件的工具不太适合研究生物计算机（大脑），因为人造系统的机器在结构和操作上与即使是最简单的动物中发现的神经系统的“湿件”根本不同。为了达到方便和有效的有用水平，神经模拟器的设计必须考虑到生物系统的特殊功能。 NEURON课程将教授这些工具的使用。

IBN 98-12317 CARNEVALE The aim of this project is to teach scientists how to use NEURON, a powerful tool for simulating the function of nerve cells and brain circuits. This course opens a new avenue through which neuroscience investigators and teachers can learn to make productive use of this essential new technology. NEURON is a widely-accepted simulation tool designed specifically for biologically realistic neural models. Since it runs on all leading computational platforms (UNIX/Linux, MSWindows 3.1, 95, 98, and NT, and MacOS), virtually every laptop and desktop microcomputer sold in the country is capable of performing research-quality simulations. The 5-day "hands-on" summer short- course will be offered on an annual basis for three years. It will be announced through electronic email lists and through web pages at: www.neuron.yale.edu and www.npaci.edu. The potential importance of NEURON to the neuroscience community derives from the fact that the nervous systems of all animals, including human beings, perform tasks such as perception, learning, and adaptive control, through computations that involve the complex interactions of electrical and chemical signals that are distributed in space and time. Engineers and computer scientists have long found simulation to be indispensable for understanding the operation of nonbiological computers. However the tools used for simulating computer hardware are poorly suited to studying biological computers (brains), because the machinery of manmade systems is fundamentally different in construction and operation from the "wetware" of the nervous systems found in even the simplest animals. To achieve useful levels of convenience and efficiency, neural simulators must be designed to take the special features of biological systems into account. The NEURON course will teach the use of such tools.