NEST is a simulator for spiking neural network models that focus on the dynamics, size and structure of neural systems rather than on the exact morphology of individual neurons.

NEST is ideal for networks of spiking neurons of any size, for example:

Models of information processing e.g. in the visual or auditory cortex of mammals,
Models of network activity dynamics, e.g. laminar cortical networks or balanced random networks,
Models of learning and plasticity.