The Human Brain Project: Phase I

在过去的十年中，计算建模已经成为神经生物学的核心。虽然大部分工作都集中在细胞和亚细胞过程上，但最近几年人们对系统级模型和从亚细胞到行为水平的数据的综合描述越来越感兴趣。综上所述，该建议是1)扩展并行离散事件仿真（PDES）的现有工作；2)将其与现有的分型建模环境相结合，生成一个全面有效地利用全系列并行平台的软件环境。由于这种集成级别所需的模型的规模，因此需要先进的并行计算。这项工作所依赖的关键技术见解是，系统级的神经元建模通常可以简化为一种离散事件模拟形式，其中单个细胞是节点函数，电压尖峰是事件。三个神经科学建模项目将在神经系统的系统级模型研究中塑造、测试和利用这些新功能，这些系统级模型将行为、解剖和生理数据整合在一起，其规模超过了当前的模拟能力。在匹兹堡超级计算中心和加州大学洛杉矶分校的计算机科学家、弗吉尼亚大学的神经科学家、波恩-邦吉基金会、安特卫普、索尔克研究所以及神经元和创世纪软件包的开发人员的合作下，这些工具将被开发出来，并提供给神经科学界。软件开发目标包括：1)研究神经元和创世纪的可移植PDES，允许在这些软件包中开发的模型进行扩展；3)研究神经元模型的网络规范语言，以及相关的可视化界面，以促进系统级模型的研究；4)足够健壮且文档完备的软件，以便在其他站点下载和安装。这三个神经科学项目将指导软件工具的开发，并使用这些工具来研究小脑、海马体和丘脑皮质回路的大规模模型。

Over the last decade computational modeling has become central to neurobiology. While much of this work has focused on cellular and sub-cellular processes, the last few years have seen increasing interest in systems level models and in integrative accounts that span data from the sub-cellular to behavioral levels. This proposal, in summary, is 1) to extend existing work in parallel discrete event simulation (PDES);2) integrate it with existing work on comparmental modeling enviroments to produce a software enviroment which has comprehensive efficiently exploit the full range of parallel platforms. Because of the scale of the models needed at this level of integration, advanced parallel computing is required. The critical technical insight upon which this work rests is that neuronal modeling at the systems level can often be reduced to a form of discrete event simulation in which single cells are node functions and voltage spikes are events. Three neuroscience modeling projects, will mold, test, and utilize these new capabilities in investigations of system-level models of the nervous system which integrate behavioral, anatomical and physiological data on a scale that exceeds current simulation capabilities. In collaboration with computer scientists at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center and UCLA, neuroscientists at the University of Virginia, the Born-Bunge Foundation, Antwerp, the Salk Institute and the developers of the Neuron and Genesis packages, these tools will be developed and made available to the neuroscience community. The software development aims include 1)Investigation of a portable, PDES for Neuron and Genesis allowing models developed in those packages to be scaled up, 3) Investigation of a network specification language for neuronal models, and associated visualization interface, to facilitate investigation of systems-levels models, 4) Sufficiently robust and well-documented software for download and installation at other sites. The three neuroscience projcts will guide development of the software tools and use the tools for investigation of large-scale models of cerebellum, hippocampus and thalamocortical circuits.