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Neuron Synapse Network (2D): Cascading Action Potentials

2D companion to the 3D neuron cluster: neurons wired into a k-nearest-neighbor dendrite graph fire, send a pulse racing along each connection, and cascade into their neighbors.

Neuroscience & Biophysics2DEasy60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version
2d-neuron-synapse-network-simulation ↗ Open standalone

This 2D companion mirrors the same k-nearest-neighbor dendrite graph as the 3D scene: each neuron is wired to its nearest connections, firing spawns a pulse that races along a subset of them, and each arrival can trigger the next neuron in turn — a cascade capped at four hops. Sliders control neuron count, connections per neuron and pulse speed, a checkbox switches spontaneous background firing on or off, and a live readout panel tracks elapsed time, total fires, active pulses and the current firing rate.

⚙ Under the hood

2D neuron network: a k-nearest-neighbor graph of neurons where firing sends a pulse racing along each dendrite connection and can cascade into its neighbors.

neuronsynapseaction potentialdendrite networkk-nearest-neighbor graphcascade

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install

Why do some pulses stop instead of cascading?

Arrival triggers the next neuron with 85% probability, and only if that neuron isn't still in its refractory (cooldown) period — so a cascade can naturally fizzle out just like real neural activity does.

What does the "Connections per neuron" slider change?

It sets k in the k-nearest-neighbor graph: each neuron connects to its k closest neighbors within range, rebuilding the whole dendrite network live.

What happens if I turn off spontaneous firing?

Neurons stay quiet until you press "Trigger random pulse" — useful for watching one cascade unfold in isolation instead of a busy, constantly-firing network.

What did you find?

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