2023 Survey of Neural Modeling Software

Our NIH BRAIN Initiative-sponsored project is looking for feedback on user needs and experiences in neuronal network modeling. The results from this brief survey will help guide future development of software and documentation for the community.

Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this survey!

Question Title

* 1. First and Last Name:

Question Title

* 2. Email

Question Title

* 3. Research Institution or Company:

Question Title

* 4. Which of the following best describes the research focus of the lab you are from?

Mostly computational

Mostly experimental

Combination of both

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 5. What scale(s) and element(s) of modeling are relevant to your work? (select all that apply)

Single neuron

Small network

Large-scale network

Point neurons

Multi-compartmental neurons

Population statistics and rate models

Realistic cell types

Question Title

* 6. What neuroscience modeling software and/or file formats are you using? (select all that apply)

NEURON

NEST

Brian/Brian2

NetPyNE

PyNN

BMTK

SONATA

NWB

VND

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 7. How important to you are the following aspects of modeling software?

	Ease of Installation	Performance	Documentation	Features
Highest importance	Highest importance Ease of Installation	Highest importance Performance	Highest importance Documentation	Highest importance Features
Second importance	Second importance Ease of Installation	Second importance Performance	Second importance Documentation	Second importance Features
Third importance	Third importance Ease of Installation	Third importance Performance	Third importance Documentation	Third importance Features
Fourth importance	Fourth importance Ease of Installation	Fourth importance Performance	Fourth importance Documentation	Fourth importance Features

Our project supports dissemination of the following modeling tools:

Brain Modeling ToolKit: https://alleninstitute.github.io/bmtk/

SONATA data format: https://github.com/AllenInstitute/sonata

Visual Neuronal Dynamics (VND) 3D visualization: https://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/vnd/

Please answer the few questions below regarding your experience with these tools.

Question Title

* 8. Have you tried using the Brain Modeling Toolkit (BMTK)?

Have never tried BMTK

Tried, but discontinued

Have been using for less than a year

Have been using for more than a year

Question Title

* 9. Have you tried using the SONATA file format?

Have never used SONATA

Tried, but discontinued

Have been using for less than a year

Have been using for more than a year

Question Title

* 10. Have you tried using Visual Neuronal Dynamics (VND)?

Yes

Question Title

* 11. If you are familiar with BMTK, SONATA, and/or VND, which of their features do you find most useful and what features would you like to be added? Have you encountered any issues during the installation?