Introduction

Neurokernel is an open software platform written in Python for emulation of the brain of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) on multiple Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). It provides a programming model based upon the organization of the fly’s brain into fewer than 50 modular subdivisions called local processing units (LPUs) that are each characterized by unique populations of local neurons [1]. Using Neurokernel’s API, researchers can develop models of individual LPUs and combine them with other independently developed LPU models to collaboratively construct models of entire subsystems of the fly brain. Neurokernel’s support for LPU model integration also enables exploration of brain functions that cannot be exclusively attributed to individual LPUs or brain subsystems.

Examples of Neurokernel’s use are available on the project website.

[1]	Chiang, A.-S., Lin, C.-Y., Chuang, C.-C., Chang, H.-M., Hsieh, C.-H., Yeh, C.-W., et al. (2011), Three-dimensional reconstruction of brain-wide wiring networks in Drosophila at single-cell resolution, Current Biology, 21, 1, 1–11, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2010.11.056