Time commitment: We are accepting projects of various lengths (we can adjust the number of components expected based on the proposed length).
Forum for discussion
About: Simulating the human brain is the holy grail of neuroscience – offering a pioneering tool for understanding how our brain works and how to deal with its disorders like stroke, epilepsy or neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. While large-scale research initiatives simulate neurons and small brain regions at the cellular level on massively parallel hardware, they are still years away from clinical applications. The Virtual Brain (TVB) takes a different approach and reduces complexity on the micro level to attain the macro organization: a TVB model of a patient’s brain generates sufficiently accurate EEG, MEG, BOLD and SEEG signals by reducing the complexity millionfold through methods from statistical physics. The key is TVB’s hybrid approach of merging individual anatomy from brain imaging data with state-of-the-art mathematical modelling. In the TVB (https://www.thevirtualbrain.org/) ecosystem there is a code repository called tvb-ext-xircuits (GitHub - the-virtual-brain/tvb-ext-xircuits: Simple visual programming environment for jupyterlab) offering a graphical way to define, configure and run simulation workflows.
The purpose of this project is to implement a new set of xircuits components, in particular for running Parameter Space Explorations (so a range of simulations with little variation in 2-3 parameters), but also few visualization oriented components, or an improved logging mechanisms are welcome.
Aims:
A set of new xircuits components, with at least one demo xircuits file
Hello,
My name is Yudan Liao, and I am thrilled to apply for the EBrains/The Virtual Brain (TVB) : : tvb-ext-xircuits under GSoC with INCF. I am currently a first-year undergraduate student at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, majoring in Applied Computing. I have a solid foundation in Python programming and am experienced in machine learning, alongside proficiency in using Jupyter Notebook for data analysis and visualization. I am particularly excited about this project as it aligns closely with my deep interest in brain simulation and computational neuroscience. In particular, I am fascinated by the mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. The opportunity to contribute to this project not only allows me to further explore my passion for neuroscience but also provides a chance to make meaningful contributions to research that could have real-world medical implications. My academic enthusiasm for neuroscience, combined with my technical skills in Python and machine learning, positions me well to contribute to the goals of this project. I am eager to develop tools and simulations that could aid in understanding brain dynamics, as well as collaborate with others in the open-source community to advance this important work.
I will send my full proposal as soon as possible and look forward to receiving your feedback and further discussing how I can contribute to this exciting project!
Best regards.
From our side, preparing a local env for tvb-ext-xiecuts, testing the existent xircuits components, and mostly preparing the GSOC project submit project are the only needed steps.
Dear Lia，
I have prepared local envfor tvb-ext-xircuits ,test for it and completed my proposal for this project. Where can I submit the proposal?
Best,
Yudan
My name is Aya Moualla Haidar and I’m a second-year Chemistry student. I recently came across Project #34 – New components in tvb-ext-xircuits and felt instantly drawn to it.
Although I come from a chemistry background, I’ve studied Python before and I’m always eager to learn through hands-on projects. What truly attracted me to this project is my growing obsession with neuroscience — I find it fascinating how we can simulate and understand brain functions using code.
I would love to contribute to this project, grow my skills, and learn from the mentors and the community. I would appreciate any guidance on how to get started or prepare for the proposal phase.
From our side, the same next steps are recommended as written in another answer above:
prepare a local python env for tvb-ext-xircuts, test the existent xircuits components, and mainly start preparing the GSOC project submit document.
My name is Gajendra Thakur, and I’m excited to express my interest in contributing to The Virtual Brain (TVB): tvb-ext-xircuits project under GSoC 2025 with INCF.
I’m currently an undergraduate Third Year student pursuing a degree in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science Engineering. I have a solid foundation in Python programming and experience with machine learning and data visualization, primarily using Jupyter Notebooks. I’ve applied these skills in personal projects like a Sign Language Detection System and a Crop Recommendation System, which have strengthened my abilities in working with real-world data and building intuitive tools.
I’m particularly drawn to this project because of my growing interest in brain simulation and computational neuroscience. The opportunity to contribute to tools that model brain activity and support research into conditions like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease is incredibly meaningful to me. I’m especially excited by TVB’s approach of merging anatomical data with mathematical modeling to simulate realistic brain dynamics.
I’m currently preparing my full proposal and will share it shortly. I would truly appreciate any feedback or guidance you may have and look forward to the opportunity to collaborate and contribute to this impactful project.
I am Gemma Qu, a student at Smith College pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Psychology. I have a solid foundation in Python, with particular strengths in modular design and algorithmic problem-solving. Additionally, I have experience working with R for data analysis and visualization.
I will submit my proposal as soon as possible and look forward to receiving your feedback. I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to this project and work with your team!
My name is Lohitha Reddy Karamala, and I am a final-year Electronics and Communication Engineering student from India. I am very interested in contributing to The Virtual Brain (TVB) – tvb-ext-xircuits project through GSoC.
I have a good foundation in Python and regularly work with Jupyter notebooks for development and experimentation. I am currently exploring JupyterLab extensions and workflow-based tools to better understand the tvb-ext-xircuits repository. I am particularly excited about this project because it combines Python development with neuroscience simulation workflows, and I’m eager to contribute to building new xircuits components for parameter space exploration and visualization.
I have started setting up the local environment for tvb-ext-xircuits and going through the existing components to understand how they function. I would really appreciate your guidance on:
Which parts of the repository I should explore first in depth.
Any beginner-friendly issues or improvements I can start working on.
Suggestions on how to prepare a strong proposal aligned with project expectations.
Looking forward to learning from you and contributing meaningfully to the project.
Dear @Lohitha,
We are excited to hear about your interest in our projects!
Our organization’s project list for GSoC 2026 hasn’t been finalizes yet, so we’re still waiting for confirmation on which proposals will be accepted.
In the meantime, you’re welcome to continue exploring and testing the existing tvb-ext-xircuits components.
I had started exploring the tvb-ext-xircuits repository as soon as I saw your message. I’ve been going through the existing components and setting up the environment locally to understand the workflow and structure better. I’m continuing to test the current components and familiarize myself with how everything connects.
I’m genuinely very interested and will keep exploring and learning while we wait for the official GSoC 2026 project announcements.
Looking forward to contributing and staying involved.
I wanted to share a quick update that I have started actively exploring the tvb-ext-xircuits repository in depth and understanding how the existing components are structured and connected. I’ve been going through the utility and workflow components to familiarize myself with the architecture and contribution style, and I’ve begun working on small fixes and improvements locally as part of this exploration.
I’m very keen on contributing consistently to this project and building meaningful improvements over time. I also hope that this project will be part of the GSoC 2026 project list once it is finalized, as I am genuinely interested in continuing my work here and preparing a strong proposal aligned with the project goals.
I have created a working branch locally while exploring and making initial fixes. Please let me know if there are any preferred contribution guidelines, specific areas that need attention, or branches/workflows you would recommend following when submitting pull requests. I would be happy to align with the project’s development practices.
Looking forward to contributing more and staying involved with the project.
From our side, preparing a local env for tvb-ext-xiecuts, testing the existent xircuits components, and mostly preparing the GSOC project submit project are the only needed steps.
As a most valuable step for us would be the “Open Viewer” functionality with a few more xircuits components and their corresponding widgets. Currently only a few are linked in this manner.
I will start exploring the Open Viewer functionality and understand how existing xircuits components are currently linked with their widgets. I’m particularly interested in studying how new components can be connected to the viewer and extended with additional widgets.
I’ll continue testing the current components locally and begin exploring this direction while preparing my proposal draft as well.