Abstract

Title: An Introduction to Psychtoolbox

Speaker: Celia Foster (CBU)

Abstract: Psychtoolbox is an open-source toolbox designed to help researchers run psychology and neuroscience experiments with precise timing. It works as an interface between code in Matlab or Octave and your computer’s hardware, making it easy to present visual and auditory stimuli with high timing precision and to record participants’ responses through devices such as keyboards, mice, button boxes, or touchscreens. Psychtoolbox can also connect with a wide range of neuroscience hardware, including eye trackers, input/output devices (e.g. Arduino boards) and neuroimaging technology (e.g. fMRI, EEG , MEG), allowing you to integrate behavioural, physiological and neuroimaging data in your experiments.

In this talk, I will give an overview of what Psychtoolbox can do and share practical tips for getting started with coding your own experiments. You will learn how to create and present different kinds of visual stimuli (such as shapes, images, text, and videos) and auditory stimuli (such as sound recordings, tones, or noise), all with precise timing control. I will also demonstrate how to collect responses from participants using different input devices. Finally, I’ll introduce some of Psychtoolbox’s more advanced features for those interested in expanding their skills. The talk is aimed at complete beginners as well as intermediate users who want to deepen their understanding and make their experiments more efficient.

Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)