Example projects and guidance?
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panamamike
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Example projects and guidance?
My daughter is a high school sophomore, she would like to create a project using NEURON for a science fair. Are there any good example projects she could use as an example/reference to build a project? Any online training or similar documentation would be much appreciated.
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ted
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Re: Example projects and guidance?
General comments:
NEURON is a great tool, but should the project's emphasis be on the tool or on some scientific question? Examples of the former would focus on topics related to applied math (e.g. efficient methods for solving large sets of differential equations) or computer science (dealing with large data sets, optimizing programs to take advantage of current and emerging computer architectures). Examples of the latter would focus on a particular issue in basic or clinical research, such as mechanisms of synaptic plasticity (basic research) or the effects of ion channel mutations on neurons or muscle (clinical research).
In any case, progress will probably be quickest if the student can join an active research team at a nearby academic institution.
Specific comments about the use of computational models in research, and NEURON in particular:
NEURON's YouTube channel (called "NEURON Simulation Environment") has some recordings of virtual courses that we presented during the Plague Years. The recordings from our INCF/CNS 2022 course are relatively informative and not horribly long. They are only lightly edited, so please excuse the stammers, network glitches etc.. I'd suggest taking a look at
NEURON concepts https://youtu.be/VPhxULQVCDQ (especially the part about how we develop understanding of physical systems)
Using NEURON's GUI to build and simulate cells https://youtu.be/GyxmZ5G86SA
Using resources from ModelDB and NeuroMorpho.Org https://youtu.be/JDoGVoR8eHM
Scripting NEURON https://youtu.be/KVFTgNv0JAk (this is actually about using Python to build and work with NEURON models)
The best place to find the latest version of NEURON is https://nrn.readthedocs.io/en/latest
That page also has links to documentation about using Python and hoc to build models, and this link to some Python tutorials https://nrn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tu ... index.html
And the NEURON Forum is great for finding answers to questions that others have already asked, asking new questions, and sharing knowledge.
NEURON is a great tool, but should the project's emphasis be on the tool or on some scientific question? Examples of the former would focus on topics related to applied math (e.g. efficient methods for solving large sets of differential equations) or computer science (dealing with large data sets, optimizing programs to take advantage of current and emerging computer architectures). Examples of the latter would focus on a particular issue in basic or clinical research, such as mechanisms of synaptic plasticity (basic research) or the effects of ion channel mutations on neurons or muscle (clinical research).
In any case, progress will probably be quickest if the student can join an active research team at a nearby academic institution.
Specific comments about the use of computational models in research, and NEURON in particular:
NEURON's YouTube channel (called "NEURON Simulation Environment") has some recordings of virtual courses that we presented during the Plague Years. The recordings from our INCF/CNS 2022 course are relatively informative and not horribly long. They are only lightly edited, so please excuse the stammers, network glitches etc.. I'd suggest taking a look at
NEURON concepts https://youtu.be/VPhxULQVCDQ (especially the part about how we develop understanding of physical systems)
Using NEURON's GUI to build and simulate cells https://youtu.be/GyxmZ5G86SA
Using resources from ModelDB and NeuroMorpho.Org https://youtu.be/JDoGVoR8eHM
Scripting NEURON https://youtu.be/KVFTgNv0JAk (this is actually about using Python to build and work with NEURON models)
The best place to find the latest version of NEURON is https://nrn.readthedocs.io/en/latest
That page also has links to documentation about using Python and hoc to build models, and this link to some Python tutorials https://nrn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tu ... index.html
And the NEURON Forum is great for finding answers to questions that others have already asked, asking new questions, and sharing knowledge.