Kreiman:Howto Run Commercials

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AUTHOR = Jed Singer
LAST UPDATED = Sep 24, 2010
How to run “commercials”


In addition to that, you'll want to edit commercials.m - there are a list of
parameters at the beginning of the file. ensure that:
the subject is m00057
continue_session is 0
send_triggers is 1
the movie file name is correct

Everything else should be good as is.

Also, ensure that the movie file you wish to play is in the commercials directory.
The movies hard drive is on my desk if he wants to watch one that's not already
on the laptop.

To actually run it:
type commercials_v2 in the matlab terminal
I forget whether the trigger test or the eye tracker calibration comes first, but I
think it's the trigger test. Verify that the triggers are coming through to the LTM
room, it's something like .5 Hz or 1 Hz until you press a key. Sheryl likely has
picked two channels for us to use as triggers already, if not you can ask her
which ones to use (she's working today). I tend to leave the two jumper cables
plugged in to those channels on the jumper box just so I don't have to muck
around with it each time.
After you press a key, the trigger test ends, and you get eyelink calibration. Press
"c" to run the calibration, space bar when the patient is fixating the central target,
and "o" once it's completed. This will start the actual movie.

Commercial breaks require fixation before they begin. If it's not detected in about
10 seconds, a question pops up asking if you need to recalibrate. Often you don't
need to, you just need to move the camera a bit. If you hit "y", however, it brings
you back to calibration mode on the eyelink, which proceeds as usual.

There's a small rectangle in the bottom of the eyelink screen that gives you an
idea of where the patient's head is relative to where the device wants it to be.
There are two marks, one for the target and one for the tracked eye. You want
both of them to be in the rectangle.

If the patient wants to take a short break, hit the space bar. That pauses the
movie, and hitting it again resumes.

If the patient wants to take a long break, hit "p". That saves where you are in the
movie, and dumps you back to matlab. To resume later, change
exp_params.continue_session to 1.

One annoying flaw in the system, introduced with eyelink, that I haven't fixed yet:
if eyelink loses fixation in a pre-commercial phase, you're stuck in a loop where
your options are to keep trying to detect the eyes or to recalibrate. If you lose
fixation and the patient decides that he's done, you need to get him to fixate
properly, look at the commercials, and *then* you can stop the movie once it
resumes.

I think this should be all you need to run it. Please call if you have questions.