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crsor  /  all sims  /  neurons

Neurons — neuron firing simulation

Two nearby neuron fields linked by only a handful of short bridge connections. Click starts a session — nearest neuron fires, then pulses spill unpredictably between the two clusters.

How it works

One mesh fills the screen — but it's actually two sets, randomly intertwined. Each neuron only connects to its 5 nearest *same-set* neighbors, so casual viewers see a single network. Look closely and you can map the two sets out.

The two sets only talk through 10 cross-bridges arranged around the perimeter of the screen (3 top, 3 bottom, 2 left, 2 right). Bridges are drawn in pink and stand out against the blue mesh.

Click anywhere: the neuron closest to the cursor fires first. Pulses radiate outward through that neuron's set, hit a bridge endpoint at the edge, and jump into the other set — which then radiates back inward from the perimeter. After firing, a neuron is locked out for 20 propagation steps; once that refractory window passes it can fire again, so waves can loop back through and re-cross the bridges.

Fired neurons stay lit for 3 propagation steps, then fade over ~600ms. The next click resets the session.

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Categories: Chaos & emergence.