Event-Driven Simulation of Networks of Spiking Neurons

A fast event-driven software simulator has been developed for simulating large networks of spiking neurons and synapses. The primitive network elements are designed to exhibit biologically realistic behaviors, such as spiking, refractoriness, adaptation, axonal delays, summation of post-synaptic current pulses, and tonic current inputs. The efficient event-driven representation allows large networks to be simulated in a fraction of the time that would be required for a full compartmental-model simulation. Corresponding analog CMOS VLSI circuit primitives have been designed and characterized, so that large-scale circuits may be simulated prior to fabrication.