Neuron Summer Conference

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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.