Stimulation
Stimulation is easier than ever with BCI2000 - including closed-loop stimulation! Because of BCI2000's closed-loop nature, stimulation can be performed based on any trigger, ranging from a simple visual stimulus to the output of a complicated signal processing computation in real time. The stimulation format is standardized in BCI2000, with some differences due to device variations. This page will list all the stimulators implemented with BCI2000, and include basic information that applies to all stimulators. For device-specific information, refer to the device's wiki page.
Contact engelhardt@neurotechcenter.org if you wish to use another stimulator with BCI2000!
Stimulators
Some of the stimulators also include data acquisition capabilities. We will group the stimulators by this capability, as well as if they are standardized or not. If standardized, they will follow the same format and SCIT (see below) can be used. If not standardized, they will follow a variation of formats and you must see each stimulator's page for instructions.
Amplifier and Stimulator
Standardized
Non-standardized
Stimulator
Standardized
Non-standardized
Configuring Stimulation Parameters
To help out with creating the BCI2000 parameters, a GUI has been made which should make it easy to translate your stimulation specifications into BCI2000 parameter files. The GUI also visualizes the stimulation from three different perspectives, making it easy to tell if your parameters are really what you want. There is a Stimulation Configuration tool user reference which will further tell you how to use this tool.
For use with Cortec BIC, NeuroOmega, gEstim, and CereStim.
Real-time Stimulation Visualization
Closed-loop Stimulation
An example of how to perform closed-loop stimulation based on the processed neural activity would be the Mu Rhythm tutorial. This tutorial steps you through the whole pipeline of set-up to post-experiment analysis. The main idea is to make a ball move on the screen due to a difference in the power of a certain frequency band. The goal is to move the ball to a target. Once the ball reaches the target, a BCI2000 State is changed.
All the stimulators use a BCI2000 Expression to trigger stimulation, which can include a State. Therefore, it can be easy to set-up stimulation based on when the ball hits the target. You can also cut-out the middle man, and directly use a thresholded signal to trigger stimulation as well.