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Wilson-Cowan Cortical Wave Simulator

Interactive Wilson-Cowan neural population model: a grid of coupled excitatory/inhibitory cortical patches whose firing rates evolve by sigmoid rate equations, producing synchronized oscillations and traveling activity waves that you can trigger and reshape in real time.

Neuroscience & Biophysics3DAdvanced60 FPS

This simulator visualizes a grid of coupled cortical patches, each governed by the Wilson-Cowan equations — a population rate-coding model where an excitatory and an inhibitory neural population interact through a sigmoid activation function instead of tracking individual spikes. Adjust the external drive to cross the sheet from quiescence into sustained oscillation, tune inhibitory coupling to see how excitation/inhibition balance controls runaway synchronized bursting, and change the spatial diffusion coupling to watch a single triggered pulse either stay local or propagate as a traveling wave across the sheet.

⚙ Under the hood

Three.jsComputational NeuroscienceWilson-CowanNeural Population ModelCortical Dynamics

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install