title: TVB-EduPack-An Interactive Learning and Scripting Platform for The Virtual Brain.
abstract: The Virtual Brain (TVB; thevirtualbrain.org) is a neuroinformatics platform for full brain network simulation based on individual anatomical connectivity data. The framework addresses clinical and neuroscientific questions by simulating multi-scale neural dynamics that range from local population activity to large-scale brain function and related macroscopic signals like electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. TVB is equipped with a graphical and a command-line interface to create models that capture the characteristic biological variability to predict the brain activity of individual subjects. To enable researchers from various backgrounds a quick start into TVB and brain network modeling in general, we developed an educational module: TVB-EduPack. EduPack offers two educational functionalities that seamlessly integrate into TVB's graphical user interface (GUI): (i) interactive tutorials introduce GUI elements, guide through the basic mechanics of software usage and develop complex use-case scenarios; animations, videos and textual descriptions transport essential principles of computational neuroscience and brain modeling; (ii) an automatic script generator records model parameters and produces input files for TVB's Python programming interface; thereby, simulation configurations can be exported as scripts that allow flexible customization of the modeling process and self-defined batch- and post-processing applications while benefitting from the full power of the Python language and its toolboxes. This article covers the implementation of TVB-EduPack and its integration into TVB architecture. Like TVB, EduPack is an open source community project that lives from the participation and contribution of its users. TVB-EduPack can be obtained as part of TVB from thevirtualbrain.org.
authors.affiliation: Minerva Research Group BrainModes, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig, Germany ; Department of Neurology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany ; Bernstein Focus State Dependencies of Learning and Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matzke
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany ; Bernstein Focus State Dependencies of Learning and Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schirner
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany ; Bernstein Focus State Dependencies of Learning and Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vollbrecht
authors.affiliation: Minerva Research Group BrainModes, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig, Germany ; Department of Neurology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany ; Bernstein Focus State Dependencies of Learning and Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rothmeier
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany ; Bernstein Focus State Dependencies of Learning and Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Germany ; Intelligent Systems and Robotics Lab, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Free University Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Adalberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Llarena
authors.affiliation: Intelligent Systems and Robotics Lab, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Free University Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Triebkorn
authors.affiliation: Codemart Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Lia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Domide
authors.affiliation: CodeBox GmbH Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mersmann
authors.affiliation: Departments of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Neurology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Solodkin
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes UMR 1106, Université d'Aix-Marseille Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Viktor K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Jirsa
authors.affiliation: Rotman Research Institute of Baycrest Centre, University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Anthony Randal
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.affiliation: Minerva Research Group BrainModes, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig, Germany ; Department of Neurology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany ; Bernstein Focus State Dependencies of Learning and Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Germany ; Berlin School of Mind and Brain and Mind and Brain Institute, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ritter
keywords: The Virtual Brain; brain modeling; computational neuroscience; connectome; educational platform