Under some circumstances simulations can slow down up to the point where the nest.Simulate() does not advance anymore and stays stuck at a given virtual time, with a "realtime factor" of 0. I suppose this can happen for instance when a network falls into a regime of runaway excitation in which a massive number of spikes are being exchanged.

I'm looking for a way to stop the simulation in such a case, (say when the realtime factor goes below a set threshold, or when the output files are not updated for a certain duration), ideally in such a way that the program can continue running rather than crashing. If anyone has a suggestion about how to go around this issue I'd be happy to hear it.
Thanks in advance! Best, Tom