Macular: a multi-scale simulation platform for the retina and the primary visual system

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Cessac, Bruno, Demairy, Erwan, Emonet, Jérôme, Kartsaki, Evgenia, Kloczko, Thibaud, Breton, Côme Le, Niclausse, Nicolas, Souihel, Selma, Szpyrka, Jean-Luc, Wintz, Julien
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Cessac, Bruno
Demairy, Erwan
Emonet, Jérôme
Kartsaki, Evgenia
Kloczko, Thibaud
Breton, Côme Le
Niclausse, Nicolas
Souihel, Selma
Szpyrka, Jean-Luc
Wintz, Julien
author_facet Cessac, Bruno
Demairy, Erwan
Emonet, Jérôme
Kartsaki, Evgenia
Kloczko, Thibaud
Breton, Côme Le
Niclausse, Nicolas
Souihel, Selma
Szpyrka, Jean-Luc
Wintz, Julien
contents We developed Macular, a simulation platform with a graphical interface, designed to produce in silico experiment scenarios for the retina and the primary visual system. A scenario consists of generating a three-dimensional structure with interconnected layers, each layer corresponding to a type of 'cell' in the retina or visual cortex. The cells can correspond to neurons or more complex structures (such as cortical columns). The inputs are arbitrary videos. The user can use the cells and synapses provided with the software, or create their own using a graphical interface where they enter the constituent equations in text format (e.g., LaTeX). They also create the three-dimensional structure via the graphical interface. Macular then automatically generates and compiles the C++ code and generates the simulation interface. This allows the user to view the input video and the three-dimensional structure in layers. It also allows the user to select cells and synapses in each layer and view the activity of their state variables. Finally, the user can adjust the phenomenological parameters of the cells or synapses via the interface. We provide several example scenarios, corresponding to published articles, including an example of a retino-cortical model. Macular was designed for neurobiologists and modelers, specialists in the primary visual system, who want to test hypotheses in silico without the need for programming. By design, this tool allows natural or altered conditions (pharmacology, pathology, development) to be simulated.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_13052
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Macular: a multi-scale simulation platform for the retina and the primary visual system
Cessac, Bruno
Demairy, Erwan
Emonet, Jérôme
Kartsaki, Evgenia
Kloczko, Thibaud
Breton, Côme Le
Niclausse, Nicolas
Souihel, Selma
Szpyrka, Jean-Luc
Wintz, Julien
Neurons and Cognition
Computational Physics
We developed Macular, a simulation platform with a graphical interface, designed to produce in silico experiment scenarios for the retina and the primary visual system. A scenario consists of generating a three-dimensional structure with interconnected layers, each layer corresponding to a type of 'cell' in the retina or visual cortex. The cells can correspond to neurons or more complex structures (such as cortical columns). The inputs are arbitrary videos. The user can use the cells and synapses provided with the software, or create their own using a graphical interface where they enter the constituent equations in text format (e.g., LaTeX). They also create the three-dimensional structure via the graphical interface. Macular then automatically generates and compiles the C++ code and generates the simulation interface. This allows the user to view the input video and the three-dimensional structure in layers. It also allows the user to select cells and synapses in each layer and view the activity of their state variables. Finally, the user can adjust the phenomenological parameters of the cells or synapses via the interface. We provide several example scenarios, corresponding to published articles, including an example of a retino-cortical model. Macular was designed for neurobiologists and modelers, specialists in the primary visual system, who want to test hypotheses in silico without the need for programming. By design, this tool allows natural or altered conditions (pharmacology, pathology, development) to be simulated.
title Macular: a multi-scale simulation platform for the retina and the primary visual system
topic Neurons and Cognition
Computational Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.13052