PRESENTATION: PRECISION PC STIMULATION FOR NEUROSCIENCE

我们对大脑功能的理解的持续进步有赖于日益复杂和现实的刺激的呈现。目前的刺激传递系统不足以完成这项任务--它们价格昂贵，通常基于DOS，而且它们可以传递的刺激类型缺乏灵活性。我们开发了一个简单易用的Windows95/98程序Presentation，它利用Windows的DirectX游戏功能来传递复杂的刺激并以亚毫秒的时间精度监控响应。它可以传递听觉、视觉或多模式刺激，并同时监测反应，而不需要特殊的硬件。它结合了“TimeVerify(TV)”功能，可以报告所有事件的时间不确定性和发生时间，确保在所有条件下都有有效的计时记录。在第一阶段，我们将进一步改进演示文稿，包括(1)使用硬件中断监控响应的设备驱动程序；(2)简化基于演示文稿的实验创建的工具；(3)经典实验的现成样本库；以及(4)广泛的基准测试和演示性能文档。在整个过程中，我们将与fMRI、ERP和行为实验领域的合作实验室专家密切合作，为这些要求苛刻的应用程序建议的商业应用程序优化展示：建议的活动将直接导致生产用于展示心理学和神经科学实验中的刺激的商业软件包。

Continued advances in our understanding of brain function depend on the presentation of increasingly complex and realistic stimuli. Current stimulus delivery systems are inadequate for this task -- they are expensive, generally DOS-based, and inflexible in the types of stimuli that they can deliver. We have developed an easy-to-use Windows95/98 program, Presentation, that takes advantage of the DirectX gaming functions of Windows to deliver complex stimuli and monitor responses with sub-ms temporal precision. It can deliver auditory, visual or multimodal stimuli and simultaneously monitor responses without special hardware. It incorporates a "TimeVerify (TV)" feature that reports the temporal uncertainties as well as the time of occurrence of all events, assuring a valid timing record under all conditions. In Phase I, we will make further improvements in Presentation including (1) Device drivers to monitor responses using hardware interrupts; (2) Tools to simplify the creation of Presentation-based experiments; (3) A library of ready-to-run examples of classic experiments; and (4) Extensive benchmark testing and documentation of Presentation performance. Throughout, we will work closely with collaborating laboratories expert in fMRI, ERP and behavioral experimentation to optimize Presentation for these demanding applications PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The proposed activity will lead directly to the production of a commercial software package for the presentation of stimuli in psychology and neuroscience experiments.