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Poster B in Poster Session B: Tuesday, August 4, 2:00 – 3:45 pm, Kimmel Center, Shorin & Rosenthal Rooms
NeuralPlayground: A Standardised Environment for Evaluating Models of Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex
Rodrigo Carrasco-Davis1, Clémentine Carla Juliette Dominé2, Luke Hollingsworth3, Devon Jarvis4, Adam Tyson3, Nikoloz Sirmpilatze3, Caswell Barry3, Andrew M Saxe3; 1Princeton University, 2Institute of Science and Technology, 3University College London, 4University of the Witwatersrand
Presenter: Clémentine Carla Juliette Dominé
Neural processes in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are thought to be crucial for spatial cognition. A growing variety of theoretical models have been proposed to capture the rich neural and behavioral phenomena associated with these circuits. However, systematic comparison of these theories—both against each other and against empirical data—remains challenging. To address this gap, we present **NeuralPlayground**, an open-source, standardized software framework for comparing theory and experiment in the domain of spatial cognition. This Python software package provides a reproducible way to evaluate models against a centralized library of published experimental results, including neural recordings and animal behavior. Currently, the framework implements: **Agents**: Three agents embodying different computational models. **Experiments**: Three experiments comprising publicly available neural and behavioral datasets. **Arena**: A customizable 2-dimensional arena (continuous and discrete) capable of generating both common and novel spatial layouts. **Comparison**: A tool that facilitates systematic comparisons between models and data. Each module can also be used separately, allowing standardized and flexible access to influential models and datasets. We hope **NeuralPlayground**, available on GitHub, provides a starting point for a shared, standardized, open, and reproducible computational understanding of the role of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex in spatial cognition.
Topic Area: Methods, Tools, Theory & Neural Coding