Clamp Stim Misc Tab

Chain – define a Stimulus Protocol as a “chain” of stimulus protocols by checking chain. A table will appear where you can list the stimulus names in the order they are to be executed (left column) and enter the time to wait after each stimulus (right column, milliseconds). You can save this stimulus chain like any other stimulus.

Stats – compute online statistics by checking stats. Use NeuroMatic’s Stats Tab to define your measurement windows, and NeuroMatic’s Channel Selector (7) to define the channel you wish to measure. Measurements will appear in the NeuroMatic Channel Graph as well as NeuroMatic’s Online Stats Graph. Stat waves will be saved in the current NeuroMatic Data Folder with prefix “ST_”, just as any other Stats wave. After defining your Stats window configurations, save your stimulus protocol to save these configurations for future use.

Spike – compute an online spike raster by checking spike. Use NeuroMatic’s Spike Tab to define your measurement windows, and NeuroMatic’s Channel Selector (7) to define the channel you wish to measure. Detected Spikes will appear in the NeuroMatic Channel Graph as well as NeuroMatic’s Online Spike Raster Graph. Spike raster waves will be saved in the current NeuroMatic Data Folder with prefix “SP_”, just as any other Spike wave. After defining your Spike measurement configurations, save your stimulus protocol to save these configurations for future use.

File name suffix (stim suffix) – see Stim Suffix on the Clamp File Tab.

Wave name prefix – the prefix name for the acquired data. Default is “Record”.

Analysis

Analysis functions (macros) can be executed before, during or after acquisition. For example, the OnlineAvg function can be selected from the during-acquisition menu, in which case an online average will be computed for the channel(s) that you specify.

When adding during-acquisition functions to an episodic stimulus protocol, the interlude time of the stimulus needs to be long enough to allow execution of the function. Hence, you should test your stimulus protocol to make sure the interlude is long enough. You can do this by viewing the CT_TimeStamp and CT_TimeIntvl waves that are created inside the current NeuroMatic Data Folder.

Pre-acquisition analysis functions include:

ReadTemp – read a temperature sensor. Value is saved to the Notes variable F_Temp.

RandomOrder – randomize the order of your stimulus waves.

Inter-acquisition analysis functions include:

OnlineAvg – compute the online average of a channel.

TempRead – read temperature sensor. Values are saved to wave CT_Temp and an over-all average to the Notes variable F_Temp.

Rstep – compute resistance of a current or voltage step response (Vin/Iout) or (Vout/Iin). Use this function, for example, to compute the resistance of your electrodes when placed in the external bath.

If you wish to make your own analysis function, your function will need to accept a single numerical flag, or mode selector, which NeuroMatic automatically passes at the appropriate time (see Igor Menu/NeuroMatic/Procedures/Clamp/NM_ClampUtility.ipf > OnlineAvg). The flags are defined as follows:

(-1) kill function. When this flag is passed, your function should kill waves and variables associated with your function. This flag is passed once the function has been removed from a stimulus protocol.

(0) run function. When this flag is passed, your function should execute the analysis you wish to perform. The time this flag is passed depends on which analysis popup menu the function is added to (pre, inter, post).

(1) config function. When this flag is passed, your function should initialize/create global variables and prompt for user input if necessary. This flag is passed once the function has been added to a stimulus protocol.

(2) init function. When this flag is passed, your function should initialize any necessary variables and waves before acquisition. This flag is passed just before acquisition starts.