Multilevel visualization of spinal reflex circuit simulations

Few tools exist for the system-level investigation of the nervous system function, just electroencephalography (EEG), functional brain imaging techniques, and large-scale simulation. Of these, simulation has contributed the least to our understanding. We describe the construction and application of a simulation environment that uses visualization as the interface to control and analyze the behavior of spinal reflex circuits. This use of visualization as a primary output for simulation is somewhat unusual, and we find it very powerful. The environment facilitates rapid experimentation because it gives immediate visual feedback on the impact of a change in input, which can be followed by statistical analysis.