NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION TIME TASK
Contents
1. Figure 3 17 MSN Code from 9CSRT mpc with Multiple Stimulus Durations Ey TRANS IV C WED PC IV MPC 9csrt mpc DER S File Edit Search Options Translation Window Help a x design you need to have the Total Number of Trials be an even multipla Number of Stimuli Used f of Times in the List 0 75 1 0 75 75 75 75 75 75 18 D B 0 B 0 D D D FF FF FF The new arrays are automatically dimensioned and the values drawn at random for each new trial If the total number of trials is an even multiple of 9 times the number of duration values an equal number of trials at each value and location runs The duration factor may be analyzed by exporting data from the D Array to Microsoft Excel and sorting by duration The MED Associates utility MPC2XL may be useful if exporting data from multiple files or partial data Using Fewer Than Nine Nose Pokes Running fewer than nine nose pokes is sometimes desirable especially during training The editing translating and compiling process is the same as described above The critical code may be found around line 129 where the following may be found LIST N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The stimulus location for each trial is drawn from this list so the follow changes are appropriate Example 1 LISTN 5 This runs a single stimulus in the center nose poke only Note that in some instances it is also desirable to physically cover the unused nose pokes C2. 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 60 4 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 70 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 Array N Array N contains a list of stimulus locations N Arrays P through X Arrays P through X contain the lists of cue durations for nose pokes 1 through 9 per 0 0 50 Q 0 0 50 R O 0 50 S 0 0 50 Ts 0 0 50 U 0s 0 50 Va 0 02 50 W O 0 50 X 0 0 50 Array Z Array Z contains the list of ITI durations Z Os 5 00 5 00 5 00
3. 00 0 00 0 00 130 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 3400 0 00 00 5 00 140 8 00 5 00 4 00 0 00 1 39 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 150 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 3400 0 00 00 5400 160 9 00 2 00 24 00 3 54 0 00 4 51 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 170 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 1 00 00 5 00 N 0 1 00 2 00 3 00 4 00 5 00 6 00 7 00 8 00 9 00 P 0 0 50 Q 0 0 50 R 0 0 50 S 0 0 50 Ts 0 0 50 U 0 0 50 V 0 0 50 W D 0 50 Xt 0 0 50 Zi 0 5 00 5 00 5 00 iy Breakdown of Sample File Simple Variables The following simple variables are shown immediately following the header information 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 QH tH y wAQ Cy cx Cy oe Sc So Se c KORE There are no simple variable used in this application and so unused the elements are reported with value 0 Breakdown of Sample File Arrays The arrays are presented in rows of 10 elements each The first row begins with element 0 and ends with element 9 the second row begins with element 10 and ends with element 19 etc Each row begins with an element marker followed by a colon 0 10 20 30 etc The number of elements or columns in each row is controlled by the command DISKCOLUMNS 10 found at line 162 of the MedState Notation code Ten elements per row were selected because in array K there are 20 elements per trial Unused elements in summary data files could be used to meet future requirements Array size may be exp
4. REACTION Modifying the MedState Notation Code Permanent changes to the MedState Notation code To make the same change to the stimulus duration as shown above do the following Open Trans IV and select File Open to place 9CSRT mpc into the text editor Scroll down to approximately line 137 note the line counter in the lower right hand corner of the editor to reveal the code shown in Figure 3 16 Figure 3 16 9CSRT mpc Line 137 Es TRANS IV C MED PC IV MPC 9csrt mpc DER ES File Edit Search Options Translation Window Help X design you need to have the Total Number of Trials be an even multipl Number of Stimuli Used f of Times in the List 5 Stimulus Duration Time Fixed at 0 5 Seconds X Use Change Variables or Add Additional Values See SOF 700RA 8 Manual for Additional Information 0 D D D D 0 0 D Change each 0 5 value to 3 0 and save the changes with the same or a new file name such as 9CSRT 3 mpc Remember a new mpc file name is created and are a macro is being used to load boxes the file name in the macro also must be changed Translate and compile the new or changed file as described previously and run MED PC IV Use the Change Variables screen to view confirm the new values Using Multiple Stimulus Duration Times Running multiple stimulus values is also a simple editing change to the code Simply add the additional values to the LIST statement as shown in Figure 3 17
5. data are recorded for each trial Responses are counted in six summary elements plus total head entries The percentage of correct incorrect and omissions is calculated as is average latency to correct responses average latency to incorrect responses and average latency to reward By default this procedure runs for 90 trials or 30 minutes starting with a fixed ITI Interval of 5 seconds and fixed Stimulus Duration of 0 5 seconds Both the ITI and the Stimulus Duration can be randomized by adding to the LIST statements starting on Line 138 see Modifying the MedState Notation Code If the session should continue through the last trial regardless of the amount of time it takes simply set the session time to some excessive value such as 999 The maximum number of trials that can be run is 250 due to the size of the K array however this can be easily changed to accommodate additional trials The variable values are set to the following default values see Viewing Changing Variable Values to change these values Table 1 1 Default Variable Values Variable Default Value Trials to Run maximum of 250 90 10 presentations at each stimulus location Response Limited Hold Time seconds 5 Time Out seconds 5 Reward 1 Pellet 2 Dipper 1 Reward Duration seconds 2 Session Time minutes 30 CHAPTER 2 Getting Started Software Installation Please refer to the MED PC IV User s Manual for a
6. or opening the procedure click Macro on the main menu and select Turn On Macro Recorder or click the 8th tool bar item with the cassette tape icon on top A note on the bottom of the display indicates that the recorder is running Open 9CSRT mpc by clicking Files Open Session Change the variables using any of the methods described above When all settings have been made turn the recorder off again by using the main menu or tool bar Save the macro with a distinctive name The example in Figure 3 15 was named Load9CSRT 3sec mac since the stimulus duration was changed to 3 seconds Figure 3 15 Load9CSRT 3sec mac Pm D Load9CSRT 3sec MAC Notepad File Edit Format View Help LOAD BOX 1 SUBJ EXPT SET VALUE MAT NBOX SET VALUE 3 MAINBOX SET VALUE MAINBOX GROUP Q0 PROGRAM OCSRT BOXES BOXES BOXES BOXES BOXES BOXES BOXES BOXES BOXES SET VALUE MAINBOX SET VALUE MAINBOX SET VALUE MAINBOX VALUE MAINBOX VALUE MAINBOX VALUE MAINBOX p pbp BPBpBPBPPoO PHBpBPBPHPBHBHHPE Once this macro is built use the macro editor to make simple changes such as replacing all 3 second values with 5 second values Review the Help file on screen or the User s Manual for more information on macros and the features offered A START command or message box followed by a START command could be added to the macro It was left off here so changes could be verified before starting the procedure MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL
7. the B Array are 100 times the values in the A Array which are in seconds 0 9 00 500 00 500 00 0 00 200 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 Array B with Labels B 0 B 1 B 2 B 3 B 4 B 5 B 6 B 7 B 8 Row Marker Trials to Limited Time Not Reward Session Latency Stimulus Stimulus Run Hold Out Used Duration Time Time Location Duration 0 9 500 500 0 200 158 4 51 2 100 Array D Array D contains some summary information The counters in elements D 0 through D 6 provide total responses broken down by category as well as head entry counts To see exactly when each counter is incremented run Find or Search in the Medstate Notation text file on the element label For example a search on D 0 takes you to any statement in which a correct response is incremented or displayed The values in elements D 10 through D 12 are calculated at the end of each trial and are displayed as a percentage Adding these three numbers together should total 10096 Rounding could cause it to be off by 0 01 In the sample file of 9 trials there were 5 correct and 3 incorrect responses with one trial of omission or 55 5696 correct 33 3396 incorrect and 11 1196 omission There were also 2 premature responses 2 perseverant responses 4 time out responses and 5 head entries 0 5 00 3 00 1 00 2 00 2 00 4 00 5 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 107 55 56 33 39 11 02 Array D with Labels D 0 D 1 D 2 D 3 D 4 D 5 D 6 D 7 D 8 D 9 Row Marker Correct Incorrect O
8. NI NE CHOI CE SERI AL REACTI ON TI ME TASK MED STATE NOTATION PROCEDURE SOF 700RA 8 User s Manual DOC 025 Rev 1 2 Copyright O 2009 All Rights Reserved MED Associates Inc P O Box 319 St Albans Vermont 05478 www med associates com Trademarks MedState Notation MED Associates Inc Registered Trademark MED PC MED Associates Inc Delphi Borland International Inc MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I m 1 ions reu mec 1 Overview of the Procedure Ne 2 Chapter 2 eee err errr errr eee eee RON D a ada dad anda 3 rune Stanbe pe ec 3 Software l nstallatigni cocoa tene Peas t etes tert eoa Dav dieing cora nada Pea ee du D UTR PERS 3 Backing Up the Software Ne 3 Chapter P 4 Beginning amp Running an Experiment Ne 4 Translating The MED PC IV mpc File Nt 4 Using the MED PC IV Load Wizard Ne 5 Viewing Changing Variable Values sss memes 10 Changing Stimulus Duration and ITI Variables 12 Urn rd ae 13 Modifying the MedState Notation Code Nt 14 Using Multiple Stimulus Duration Times ssssssssesse mem 15 Using Fewer Than 9 Nose PoKeS Ne 15 Chapter 4 16 Understanding the Data Files eee eene 16 Sample Data Fil coiere a px kx IR RR ERE ERR Ur eta e
9. act MED Associates Inc for assistance Figure 3 1 Trans IV Control Panel for Translating and Compiling MedState Notation Code It Specify Files to Translate 9csrt mpc Build No Trans Exclude J OK X Cancel Help MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION Using the MED PC IV Load Wizard MED PC IV is designed to help the researcher run an experiment by guiding selection choices through its Experiment Loading Wizard This section will describe how to initiate the 9CSRT mpc application however the following steps that will also apply to all other mpc procedures Open MED PC IV and the MED PC Experiment Loading Wizard s Welcome screen shown in Figure 3 2 will appear Figure 3 2 The MED PC IV Loading Wizard Welcome Screen To avoid this load wizard deselect the checkbox labeled Run this experiment automatically when starting MED PC Close this screen by clicking the Close button Closing this screen immediately reveals the MED PC Run Time Screen shown in Figure 3 9 If the choice to continue with the Loading Wizard is made then click the Next button MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION The Box Selection screen will appear next as shown in Figure 3 3 From this screen the researcher chooses which boxes will be used in the experiment Select the boxes that will run the experiment by clicking in the radio button next to the box number The figure shows that the Hardware C
10. anded with the DIM commands found prior to State Set 1 Each array has been defined in the comments section at the beginning of the mpc file That information was used to add the following labels to each array The lines were expanded to make room for the labels See the MPC2XL User s Manual for producing labeled data files with all or just some of the information below Array A Array A contains the control variable values The values are preset to default values in State Set 1 State 1 They are displayed as named variables and can be changed by any of the methods described previously Once a session is started these values should not be changed to insure the integrity of the experiment 0 9 00 5 00 5 00 1 00 2 00 30 00 Array A with Labels A 0 A 1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5 Trials to Limited Time Reward Reward Session Marker i Run Hold Out Code Duration Time 0 90 5 5 1 2 30 Array B Array B parallels Array A and is used for the working variables that may change as the session runs For example the element for Trials is incremented by one for each trial At the end of the session the value will be the same as the A element unless the experiment ran out of time The session time in the B Array is incremented in seconds while the value in the A array is set in minutes The time elements for limited hold time out and reward duration are in MED clock units Since this example was run with a resolution setting of 10 ms the values in
11. are always saved unformatted in the occasion a data extraction utility such as MPC2XL is used The header information should be self explanatory Data file formats are explained in detail in the MED PC IV User s Manual File C MED PC IV DATA 2008 02 12_10h26m Subject 0 Start Date 02 12 08 End Date 02 12 08 Subject 0 Experiment 0 Group 0 Box 1 Start Time 10 26 23 End Time 10 29 30 MSN 9CSRT 4 DO O00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 KOBRQGUHTAHA Ooo oO OC OC CO 0 0 0 90 00 5 00 5 00 1 00 2 00 30 00 0s 9 00 500 00 500 00 0 00 200 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 Os 5 00 3 00 1 00 2 00 2 00 4 00 5 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 l0 A556 33 39 Weil MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION G 0 2 05 1 41 6 33 0 00 0 00 15 26 4 23 31 53 E 0 1 00 3 00 3 00 3 03 0 00 8 59 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 193 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 OU 0 00 0 00 0 00 00 00 5 00 201 2 00 7 00 3400 0 00 2 70 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 301 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 00 5 00 40 3 00 1 00 1 00 2 38 0 00 10 17 0 00 00 00 0 00 50 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 DO 00 5 00 60 4 00 4 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 1 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 70 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 00 5 00 80 5 00 6 00 6 00 3401 0 00 5 72 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 90 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 00 00 5 00 100 6 00 8 00 8 00 3 30 0 00 2 64 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 110 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 00 00 5 00 120 7 00 9 00 l 00 0 00 0 14 0 00 0 00 0
12. ay a D Array mes z Named Vrs 6 000 ESTES 1000 6 000 9 000 Yars SET 0 000 0 000 NArm 2000 pgn P Array Q Array R Array S Array T Array Issue U Array Y Array W Array X Array ee Close 2 Array d Help Display Data from Box Additional Boxes to Update C from Box 1 eB 1 0 000 z Select All Deselect Al The value of any simple variable may be viewed from this screen by clicking an array on the table and each element in that array can be viewed as shown in Figure 3 12 To change a value simply highlight and replace the value in the lower right hand box or use the up down arrows to increment by 1 Click the Issue button for the change to take effect Click Named Variables to produce the display in Figure 3 13 Change variables here as needed s 10 lt MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION Figure 3 12 Displaying Array A from Box 1 Displaying Array A from Box 1 Figure 3 13 Displaying Named Variables from Box 1 Displaying Named Variables from Box 1 sd MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION Changing Stimulus Duration and ITI Variables Arrays were used to control stimulus duration and ITI time because it may be desirable to randomize multiple values of one or the other or both The default stimulus duration for each stimulus location has been placed in an individual array to be able to produce a balanced design when using multiple durations The stimulus duration valu
13. cations match for the correct trials 1 amp 3 and do not match for incorrect trial 2 In trial 4 the response location is 0 indicating an omission trial To view only those trials that meet a specific criterion place this data in a spreadsheet with one row per trial and sort to extract all correct or incorrect trials all trials in a particular location or trials by stimulus duration when using multiple durations K 0 1 00 3 00 3 00 3 03 0 00 8 59 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 105 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 1 00 1 00 5 00 20 2 00 7 00 3 00 0 00 2 70 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 305 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 1 00 5 00 40 3 00 1 00 1 00 2 38 0 00 10 17 0 00 1 00 1 00 0 00 503 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 1 00 1 00 5 00 60 4 00 4 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 1 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 70 9 90 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 1 00 5500 Array K with Labels Raw K 0 K 1 K 2 K 3 K 4 K 5 K 6 K 7 K 8 K 9 Marker Trial Stimulus First Correct Incorrect Reward Omission Perseverant Perseverant Perseverant Number Location Response Latency Latency Latency Error NP 1 NP 2 NP 3 0 1 3 3 3 03 0 8 59 0 0 0 0 K 10 K 11 K 12 K 13 K 14 K 15 K 16 K 17 K 18 K 19 Perseverant Perseverant Perseverant Perseverant Perseverant Perseverant Premature Head NP 4 NP 5 NP 6 NP 7 NP 8 NP 9 Response Entries Cue Dur ITI Dur 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 20 2 7 3 0 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 40 3 1 1 2 38 0 10 17 0 1 1 0 50 0
14. ced by these procedures In addition to this manual refer to the MED PC IV User s Manual for the installation of the MED Associates interface drivers the MED PC IV Software and the Delphi Compiler Also refer to the User s Manual for instructions on developing a Hardware Configuration Data file structure file saving format and other related options are also determined by the Hardware Configuration Running the Hardware Configuration software utility that accompanies MED PC IV sets the Hardware Configuration Its purpose is to assign the inputs and outputs on the interface cards in the interface cabinet for each task controlled by MED PC IV The particular type of interface card that is supplied in the interface cabinet may vary please refer to the User s Manual provided for instructions on how to configure the type of card that is in the cabinet A valid Hardware Configuration must exist in order for MED PC IV to interface correctly with the MED Associates Inc hardware This means that one should take the time to create a valid Hardware Configuration before attempting to run the procedures included in this package Should there be any problems the staff at MED Associates Inc is available to answer any questions that may arise Please e mail us at support med associates com with a detailed description of the problem or desired goals so that concise and detailed information may be provided The Nine Choice Serial Reaction Time Task proced
15. complete guide to installing the MED PC IV software building a valid Hardware configuration with the Hardware Configuration utility and opening and compiling a MSN procedure in the Trans IV utility To install the Nine Choice Serial Reaction Time Task Procedure insert the CD into the CD ROM drive and click Install the 9 Choice Serial Reaction Time Software The procedure is copied into the C MED PC IVAMPC folder Backing Up the Software Med Associates strongly encourages creating backup copies of the programs in case of disk failure Having copies of the original programs may be useful in the future should modifications be made to the existing programs CHAPTER 3 Beginning amp Running an Experiment Translating The MED PC IV mpc File Programs written in MedState Notation must be translated using Trans IV before they can be executed in this application Be sure that a copy of the file being translated is present in the directory C MED PC IV MPC Open Trans IV icon and select Translation Translate and Compile Select the program s to use for the experiment and click Make Click OK to start the translator and it will automatically parse the MedState Notation and then open to a DOS screen to compile the Pascal code Depending on the speed of the computer each of these steps may not be seen If any problems are encountered during this process refer to the on screen help menu or the MED PC Version IV User s Manual or cont
16. e for location lis placed in the P Array To change this value click the P Array button to produce the display in Figure 3 14 Highlight and replace the value in the lower right hand box Click Issue for the change to actually take effect Figure 3 14 Changing the Duration of Stimulus 1 Displaying Array P from Box 1 P 0 Named Vars 3 000 Vars Refresh Close 3 Help Display Data from Box Additional Boxes to Update P 0 from Box 1 e 1 r 1 3 000 A Select All Deselect All In Figure 3 14 the value of the stimulus duration for location 1 has been changed to 3 seconds To change all locations to the same value you must repeat this procedure for arrays Q R S T U V W amp X If you plan to run the same time for many sessions it is more efficient to either edit the code and retranslate it with a new file name or to create a macro as illustrated below Use the same procedure to change the ITI value s in the Z Array MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION Macros The simplest way to initially create a macro is to record keyboard functions while performing the steps manually Once the commands are in the macro it is easy to create a number of macros with the macro editor The following example illustrates the process of loading Box 1 and changing the Stimulus Duration to 3 seconds To begin open MED PC IV and going directly to the run time screen Close the load wizard if present Before loading
17. ed bens 16 Breakdown of Sample File Simple Variables Ne 18 Breakdown of Sample File Arrays pp 18 ANT P e PL DECUIT 18 AWAY M 19 DUC MC ERR CMT 21 Dur 22 3 22 Arrays P through X eere nonem bee dcre De us e rie ke d ne sali 23 MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION CHAPTER 1 Introduction The purpose of this manual is to give an explanation of the MED State Notation Procedures that comprise the SOF 700RA 8 Nine Choice Serial Reaction Time Task Procedure The files in this package can be found on the disk provided by MED Associates Inc These procedures are intended to be run in MED Associates MED PC IV software The latest version of MED PC IV gives researchers the ability to use pre programmed procedures such as these to make hardware control and data collection easy These pre programmed procedures can also be modified to meet the evolving demands of a research protocol Again it is the intent of this manual to explain exactly what these procedures implement and provide guidance into how to interpret what the program code achieves in order to let the user determine how to modify them to match their research protocol demands The manual provides some examples of editing and modifying the procedure s programming code The manual also defines the elements in the raw data file produ
18. gure 3 6 Review Choices Screen Review the data below Boc 1 Procedure 9CSRT Subject Subject 1 Experiment Experiment 1 Group Group 1 Comment SCSRT Experiment Filename S9CSRT Subjectl Groupl Click Next to finish loading the box or Previous to correct errors MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION The Alter Session Parameters Screen shown in Figure 3 7 is the next screen to appear and is an important screen for the researcher The Alter Session Parameters screen allows the researcher to alter the parameters by which a procedure executes The Send Start Command Screen appears next The options available on the screen vary depending upon how many boxes are described in the Hardware Configuration Figure 3 7 Alter Session Parameters Screen Trials to Run Response Limited Hold Time Ga Time Out ses Reward 1 Pellet Dipper In this example only 1 box is described in the Hardware Configuration so Figure 3 8 will appear next If more than 1 box is in the Hardware Configuration then Figure 3 9 will appear Figure 3 8 Send Start Command Screen for Single Box Configuration MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION Figure 3 9 Send Start Command Screen for Multiple Box Configuration In both cases Figure 3 8 and Figure 3 9 the screens are where the researcher decides to either load more boxes send a start signal to boxes that are already loaded o
19. missions Premature Perseverant Time Out Head Not Not Not Responses Responses Responses Responses Responses Entries Used Used Used 0 5 3 1 2 2 4 5 0 0 0 D 10 D 11 D 12 ROW Percent Percent Percent Marker NEP Correct Incorrect Omission 10 55 56 33 33 11 11 Array G Array G contains additional summary data G 0 G 1 and G 2 contain the average latency to correct incorrect and omissions respectively G 5 G 6 and G 7 contain the total latency times from which the averages were computed but otherwise provide no additional information For example the value of G 0 3 05 is the result of dividing the total latency time in G 5 15 26 by the total number of correct responses in D 0 5 The number of decimals shown is controlled by the DISKFORMAT command inserted into the code prior to State Set 1 0 3 05 1 41 6 33 0 00 0 00 15 29 4 23 31 63 Array G with Labels G 0 G 1 G 2 G 3 G 4 G 5 G 6 G 7 Row Average Average Average Not Not Total Total Total Marker Latency Latency Latency Used Used Latency Latency Latency Correct Incorrect Reward Correct Incorrect Reward 0 3 05 1 41 6 33 0 0 15 26 4 23 31 63 Array K Array K contains trial by trial information A total of 20 elements are assigned to each trial and are displayed in two rows Only the data from the first four trials is shown below By comparing the stimulus location with the location of the first response you can tell what type of trial each was The lo
20. onfiguration included only 1 box which was selected Click Next to continue Figure 3 3 The Box Selection Screen The Select a Procedure screen appears next as seen in Figure 3 4 This is where the application to be run is selected The screen displays a list of all the currently compiled procedures Select the desired procedure and then click Next Figure 3 4 The Select a Procedure Screen MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION The Enter Experiment Data Screen should display next as shown in Figure 3 5 The purpose of this screen is to allow annotations to be added to the data file that is produced by MED PC IV These annotations will help identify the Subject Experiment and Experiment Group upon which data was collected Comments can be added here as well and the data file can be given a customized file name to help identify it from other data files Enter the information desired and click Next Figure 3 5 Enter Experiment Data Screen IX Subject S ubject E E periment Group mel Comments SCSRT Experiment Optional Custom Filename SCSRT_Subject _Group Ss EIU EE co The next screen to appear is the Review Choices screen as seen in Figure 3 6 This is a method of confirming that the information received from the Box Procedure Selected is correct If it is not correct select Previous and edit the data If it is correct select Next Fi
21. over plates are available for this purpose on request Example 2 LIST N 4 5 6 Run with the two adjacent center locations Example 3 LIST N 3 5 7 Run three locations using every other stimulus Example 4 LIST N 1 3 5 7 9 Run traditional 5 Choice Task CHAPTER 4 Understanding the Data Files Unless otherwise specified data will be saved to C MED PC IV DATA Data can be saved manually by selecting FILE SAVE DATA MANUALLY or FILE SAVE DATA FLUSH The file name that is used to save the data in depends on the option that was chosen in the Hardware Configuration Utility and may also be dependent on the Subject Experiment and Group name provided in the MED PC IV load wizard Within each data file the headings are created for each Subject Experiment Group Box etc see below Data files may be opened with note pad word pad or any word processor or spreadsheet however be sure they are always saved unformatted in case a data extraction utility such as MED PC to Excel might ever be used Data file formats are explained in detail in the MED PC IV User s Manual Sample Data File Select Annotated on the file options page during hardware installation to produce a raw data file similar to the following Data files are located in C MED PC IV Data unless an alternate path was defined during hardware installation They may be opened with note pad word pad or any word processor however make sure they
22. r enter the MED PC IV run time environment without sending a start signal by selecting am finished with the wizard This option results in the screen shown in Figure 3 10 Figure 3 10 The MED PC IV Run Time Screen MED PC IV File Configure View Macros Help A o e ax i Sl emi a el Box Subject Experiment Group Load Program 1 Subject Experiment 1 Group 1 1 amp 08 Scsit is zi Trials 90 00 LimitedHold 5 00 TimeOut 500 RewardCode 1 00 RewardDuration 2 00 S 10 SHOWS 11 15 SHOWS 15 20 1 2 2008 4 11 48 PM Session 30 00 a File A Wizard For Loading Boxes P 2 Open Session Ctri o Z MED ASSOCIATES INC NINE CHOICE SERIAL REACTION Viewing Changing Variable Values Before a start command has been issued any variable may be changed on the MED PC IV run time screen Simply highlight the value to change and then enter the new value Once a session is in progress change variables by selecting Configure Change Variables or click the 4th tool bar item AX In the lower left hand corner of the Change Variables window find the Display Data from Box display and choose the chamber s to modify By clicking additional boxes in the Additional Boxes to Update section changes made to a single box are automatically loaded to all of the selected boxes Figure 3 11 Changing Variables Screen Displaying Variables from Box 1 A Array B Arr
23. ure is designed to be as easy to use as possible MED Associates Inc understands that researchers do not have the time to devote to programming and hardware design and for that reason we have undertaken that burden for you We sincerely hope that you are satisfied with the products and services we provide and look forward to meeting your future experimental needs as your research program evolves Overview of the Procedure The test animal is required to respond to brief flashes of light presented randomly in one of nine spatial locations Testing with fewer than nine locations is also possible and is covered in the Modifying the MedState Notation Code section of this manual Testing begins with the onset of the House Light and the Pellet or Dipper Receptacle Light A response issues a Free Reward Presentation and initiates the Session Timer Following the Reward Interval an ITI is activated for the first Trial Responses during the ITI result in a Time Out and are recorded as a Premature Response Time Outs also occur following an Incorrect Response or following an Error of Omission failure to respond within the Limited Hold Interval Responses during the Time Out reset the Time Out Timer The house light is turned off during a Time Out A correct response turns the receptacle light on however the Reward Duration time does not start until a head entry is made Spurious head entries are counted during all intervals Twenty elements of
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