Runtime Construction of Large-Scale Spiking Neuronal Network Models on GPU Devices
Abstract
Simulation speed matters for neuroscientific research: this includes not only how quickly the simulated model time of a large-scale spiking neuronal network progresses, but also how long it takes to instantiate the network model in computer memory. On the hardware side, acceleration via highly parallel GPUs is being increasingly utilized. On the software side, code generation approaches ensure highly optimized code, at the expense of repeated code regeneration and recompilation after modifications to the network model. Aiming for a greater flexibility with respect to iterative model changes, here we propose a new method for creating network connections interactively, dynamically, and directly in GPU memory through a set of commonly used high-level connection rules. We validate the simulation performance with both consumer and data center GPUs on two neuroscientifically relevant models: a cortical microcircuit of about 77,000 leaky-integrate-and-fire neuron models and 300 million static synapses, and a two-population network recurrently connected using a variety of connection rules. With our proposed ad hoc network instantiation, both network construction and simulation times are comparable or shorter than those obtained with other state-of-the-art simulation technologies, while still meeting the flexibility demands of explorative network modeling.
Authors 9
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Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare · University of Cagliari · Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Cagliari
Affiliation as printed
) Department of Physics , University of Cagliari , Italy
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) , Sezione di Cagliari , Cagliari , Italy
) Department of Physics, University of Cagliari, Italy
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
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Forschungszentrum Jülich · Jülich Aachen Research Alliance · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
) Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) , Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) , JARA-Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships (INM-10) , Jülich Research Centre , Jülich , Germany
-Software Engineering , RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany
) Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6), Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), JARA-Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships (INM-10), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
-Software Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare · University of Cagliari · Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Cagliari
Affiliation as printed
) Department of Physics , University of Cagliari , Italy
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) , Sezione di Cagliari , Cagliari , Italy
) Department of Physics, University of Cagliari, Italy
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
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Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma I
Affiliation as printed
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Roma , Italy
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma, Italy
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Forschungszentrum Jülich · Jülich Aachen Research Alliance · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
) Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) , Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) , JARA-Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships (INM-10) , Jülich Research Centre , Jülich , Germany
-Software Engineering , RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany
) Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6), Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), JARA-Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships (INM-10), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
-Software Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare · University of Cagliari · Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Cagliari
Affiliation as printed
) Department of Physics , University of Cagliari , Italy
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) , Sezione di Cagliari , Cagliari , Italy
) Department of Physics, University of Cagliari, Italy
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
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Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma I
Affiliation as printed
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Roma , Italy
) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma, Italy
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Forschungszentrum Jülich · Jülich Aachen Research Alliance · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
) Department of Computer Science
) Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6), Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), JARA-Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships (INM-10), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
-Software Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Forschungszentrum Jülich · Jülich Aachen Research Alliance · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
) Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) , Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) , JARA-Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships (INM-10) , Jülich Research Centre , Jülich , Germany
-Software Engineering , RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany
) Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6), Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), JARA-Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships (INM-10), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
-Software Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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