Free and complete software providing experience with neurophysiological phenomena and mechanisms of motor pattern generation in virtual neural circuits. Student manuals also provided.
About Swimmy
Swimmy is an instructional tool for teaching neurophysiology that requires only a computer. Swimmy is a virtual fish that swims, moving its virtual tail by means of a virtual neural circuit. Swimmy offers students the opportunity to approach a conceptually challenging task of scientific discovery and to get practical experience with the basics of neurophysiology–without the impediments of in vivo or in vitro neurophysiology experiments. Swimmy is available for free, along with student and instructor tutorials.
Read the published article (from the Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, Fall 2008, 7(1):A1-A8) about the Swimmy module as a teaching tool:
Download Swimmy Files
Students and Faculty can download the Swimmy Program and Swimmy Tutorials for free.
(1) Download the Swimmy Program
There are four versions of the Swimmy program available for the following operating systems:
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- Windows
- Mac OS 10.5.8 through Mac OS 10.11.X (El Capitan)
- Mac OS 10.14.X (Mojave)
- Mac OS 10.15.X and up (including Big Sur Mac OS 11.X)
Be sure to click the link suited for your system. Each respective link will take you to a Box page containing all the files needed for the program. Do NOT download the files individually; instead click the DOWNLOAD button on the Box page to download the entire folder as a ZIP file. You do NOT need to log in for the download to begin. Be sure to UNZIP the file (Windows = right+click Extract; Mac = double-click).
Download the Swimmy program now:
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- Swimmy Program UPDATED on 2021-04-06 at 11:45am PDT
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- Swimmy Tutorial (2-Week) UPDATED on 2021-04-07 at 11:45am PDT
- Swimmy Tutorial (3-Week) UPDATED on 2021-04-07 at 11:45am PDT
For Faculty
Faculty members interested in accessing faculty-related materials will need to obtain approved access. While we are still developing this website, please email natalie@psych.ucla.edu or wgrisham@g.ucla.edu using the email listed in your institution’s faculty directory so that we can verify you as an instructor. Please include your first and last name, and the names of the modules you wish to access.
Extras
(1) Watch a video that provides an overview about the Swimmy teaching tool.
Need Help?
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- Swimmy FAQ
- Email natalie@psych.ucla.edu or wgrisham@g.ucla.edu (with “Swimmy Question” in the subject line).
License Information
Modular Digital Course in Undergraduate Neuroscience Education—Revised: Swimmy by Franklin B. Krasne is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.neuron.yale.edu.
