Multiple Interacting Instantiations of Neuronal Dynamics (MIIND): a Library for Rapid Prototyping of Models in Cognitive Neuroscience

Modelling the neuronal substrate of higher cognitive functions is very time consuming. Apart from a few exceptions, the models are only available in print. The source code behind these models is hardly ever published, which means that the model has to be re-implemented if it is to be extended or to be examined in detail. This prevents the creation of really complex models, since it is impossible to build on existing models. Many models share quite a number of characteristics, however, which can be captured by high level object oriented programming languages. Factoring out these characteristics leads to low level components which can be reused in a surprisingly versatile manner. In this paper we present a number of such components, which collectively are called MIIND. We will give examples of their use and will indicate how they could be extended.