NeuralPlayground: A Standardised Environment for Evaluating Models of Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex

Abstract

Neural processes in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are thought to be crucial for spatial cognition. A growing variety of theoretical models have been proposed to capture the rich neural and behavioral phenomena associated with these circuits. However, systematic comparison of these theories, both against each other and against empirical data, remains challenging. To address this gap, we present NeuralPlayground, an open-source standardised software framework for comparisons between theory and experiment in the domain of spatial cognition. This Python software package offers a reproducible way to compare models against a centralised library of published experimental results, including neural recordings and animal behavior. The framework implements three Agents embodying different computational models; three Experiments comprising publicly available neural and behavioral datasets; a customisable 2-dimensional Arena (continuous and discrete) able to generate common and novel spatial layouts; and a Comparison tool that facilitates systematic comparisons between models and data. Each module can also be used separately, allowing standardised and flexible access to influential models and data sets. We hope NeuralPlayground, available on GitHub3, provides a starting point for a shared, standardized, open, and reproducible computational understanding of the role of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex in spatial cognition.