Dendrite Garden

Spiking neurons with living dendrites

Field guide

: Glowing branches are dendritic voltage. Input light drains toward the soma and fades with distance.
: Hot flares are NMDA dendritic spikes: a branch firing on its own when coincident input arrives.
: A flash spreading outward from a soma is a back-propagating action potential. It is also the teaching signal for plasticity.
: Comets are spikes in flight down axons. Warm ones excite, cool ones inhibit.
: Beads are synapses. Size is strength, flicker is short-term facilitation or fatigue, and a four-point star is a consolidated long-term memory.
: Soma hue follows each neuron's firing phase, so neurons in sync share a colour.

Network

Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom. Pick a tool below to touch the network. Keys: 1–5 networks, Space pause, H hide panels.

This toy can produce synchronised flashing. Lower Trails and Speed if you are sensitive to flicker.

Rate –

Synchrony –

Dend. spikes –

Memory –

Time scale –

Neurons –

Growing neurons…