Glossary

Common abbreviations in NEST

iaf

integrate and fire

gif

generalized integrate and fire

cond

conductance-based

psc

postsynaptic current (current-based)

hh

hodgkin huxley

rng

random number generator

wfr

waveform relaxation method

aeif

adaptive exponential integrate and fire

ht

hill and tononi

pp

point process

in

inhibitory

ex

excitatory

MAM

multi-area model

mpi

message passing interface

stdp

spike-timing dependent plasticity synapse

st

short term plasticity

vp

virtual process

Physical units and variable names used for NEST parameters

Note

all parameters listed here are defined as type double in NEST

time

milliseconds ms

tau_m

Membrane time constant in ms

t_ref

Duration of refractory period in ms

t_spike

point in time of last spike in

capacitance

picofarads pF

C_m

Capacitance of the membrane in pF

current

picoamperes pA

I_e

Constant input current in pA.

conductance

nanosiemens nS

_L Leak conductance in nS

_K Potassium peak conductance in nS.

_Na Sodium peak conductance in nS.

spike rates

spikes/s

modulation frequencies

herz Hz

frequency

frequncy in Hz

voltage

millivolts mV

V_m

Membrane potential in mV

E_L

Resting membrane potential in mV.

V_th

Spike threshold in mV.

V_reset double

Reset potential of the membrane in mV.

V_min

Absolute lower value for the membrane potential in mV

E_ex

Excitatory reversal potential in mV.

E_in

Inhibitory reversal potential in mV.

E_Na

Sodium reversal potential in mV.

E_K

Potassium reversal potential in mV.