Glossary Item Box

NSHelp: StimuliStimulus EditorElement PatternElement DimensionsElement AppearanceElement ResultsElement Animation

See Also NeuroScript MovAlyzeR Help Send comments on this topic.

Elements

Elements  

Elements are the smallest units where one or more elements make up one stimulus. Some elements may be labeled Target elements where each target has to be reached according to a specific sequence. Properties of elements can be changed when the pen reaches it.

* Create Stimulus Elements (Targets)

* Element Properties & Features

* Stimulus Elements as Interactive Targets

Create Stimulus Elements

A Stimulus consists of one or several stimulus elements. A stimulus element can be:

1. A Geometrical shape, as defined by stimulus properties.

2. A drawing or handwriting pattern recorded previously from an existing experiment trial.

3. An existing Bitmap file.

If you have not created/added elements during new stimulus:

o You can create a new element by navigating to 'Elements' on the left tree window > right click > create new.

o Then you can add the element by: select the stimulus you want to add it to > right click add elements.

You can also add elements by: select the stimulus > right click > properties > click '+' > select the element(s) from the master list and click 'add'. Note that the elements that are already added will not be displayed in the list.


Element Properties

Element can be created as a shape, a previously recorded pattern or a bitmap file. The following two points are common for all options.

o The element will be a target: A stimulus element can be a target (i.e., the pen has to reach all targets in a certain sequence during a trial). If this option is unchecked, it cannot be added to a target use/sequence list in the stimulus, but will be simply displayed on the screen.

o Start time(s) and Duration: A dynamic element which appears at a certain start time and is displayed for a specified duration, can be defined using this option. The start time and the duration are measured from the start time of the stimulus.

EXAMPLE: If start time = 0 sec and duration = 5 sec, then the element appears immediately after the stimulus starts and disappears after 5 sec from the start of stimulus. The option 'Indefinite' is default and implies that the element will appear throughout the life of the stimulus it is added to.

1. To Use a shape: Geometrical shapes can be rectangles or lines or circles with line colors, fill colors, text font, size, and colors. The other shapes can be used from a bitmap file.

o In the General tab, choose the option 'Use a shape'.

o In the Dimensions tab, fill the element attributes.

 

2. To Use a pattern: A pattern can be created as the element from an existing trial.

o In the General tab, choose the option 'use pattern(data file)'.

o In the Pattern tab, select the pattern to be used.

 

3. To Use a Bitmap file:

o In the General tab, browse for the bitmap file and click 'OK'.

o In the Dimensions tab, select the X and Y coordinates for the element to be displayed. The size of the element will be as defined by the bitmap file. So when you make the bitmap file, drag the borders of the canvas to fit in the image.

o You can use the following procedure to create a bitmap file in MS paint brush.

~ Start menu > programs > accessories > paint brush.
~ File > New file > Create the required image.
~ Using the cropping tool, make sure that there is no white (canvas) border (the whole .bmp file will be used as the element).
~ File > save as > <name>.bmp
~ You can then use the <name>.bmp file as the .bmp source file in Movalyzer.


Stimulus Elements as Interactive Targets

o The Main/Initial Appearance of the element changes to the Successful Target Appearance when you reach the target according to the Target Use/Sequence specified in the Stimulus Properties.

o The Main/Initial Appearance of the element changes into the Incorrect Target Appearance when you reach the target NOT according to the Target Use/Sequence specified in the Stimulus Properties.

NOTE: In cases where you have the same target multiple times (ie, overlapping), the underlying targets will not be considered "reached" until the pen has exited the overlapping target and the underlying target re-entered. Sequential targets that slightly overlap do not conform to this idea, however. If, for example, target 2 begins 1/2 way through target 1, target 2 will be considered "reached" even if the pen has not completely left target 1.

EXAMPLE 1 : Learning Sequence of Aiming Targets

General Dimensions Appearance
Successful Target Incorrect Target
Element ID Description Target Center X (cm) Center Y (cm) Fill Color Text
TA1 Target1 v 12 7.5 Gray X
TA2 Target2 v 11.41 8.91 Gray X
TA3 Target3 v 10 9.5 Gray X
TA4 Target4 v 8.59 8.91 Gray X
TA5 Target5 v 8 7.5 Gray X
TA6 Target6 v 8.59 6.09 Gray X
TA7 Target7 v 10 5.5 Gray X
TA8 Target8 v 11.41 6.09 Gray X
HOM Home v 10 7.5 Gray X

NOTE: RGB coordinates of Gray are 192,192,192 by default. NOTE: Incorrect Target Text is X by default. Combine all of these elements into one stimulus.

EXAMPLE 2 : Roset  

Example of the elements used to build a stimulus consisting of 8 targets of size 0.2cm (square) in a circle at distance of 2 cm from a 0.4 cm home position in the middle of a 8"x6" (20.32cm x 15.24cm) digitizer  (1"=2.54cm).  Other common digitizer sizes are 5"x3.65", 9"X12".

o HINT1: Create one element first and use right-click particular element > Duplicate to create the other elements.

o HINT2: Chart an element or stimulus in real size by right-clicking a particular stimulus or element > Display, followed by pressing Stop Recording/Processing.

o HINT3: To exit charting a stimulus (element), click the red stop-button on the top menu bar.

o HINT4: Other font sizes than 8-72 can be typed manually.

General Dimensions Appearance Main/Initial
Element ID Description Center X (cm) Center Y (cm) Text Fill Color
T01 Target1 12 7.5 1 Green
T02 Target2 11.41 8.91 2 Green
T03 Target3 10 9.5 3 Green
T04 Target4 8.59 8.91 4 Green
T05 Target5 8 7.5 5 Green
T06 Target6 8.59 6.09 6 Green
T07 Target7 10 5.5 7 Green
T08 Target8 11.41 6.09 8 Green
TAH Home 10 7.5 h Red

NOTE: RGB coordinates for Green are 128,255,128 and for Red are 255,162,162.

 

EXAMPLE 3 : Lined paper

o Example of the elements used to produce a lined paper with the standard pitch of 0.7 mm

General Pattern Appearance Main/Initial
Element ID Description Center X (cm) Center Y (cm) 1/2 X size (cm) 1/2 Y size (cm) Line Size Line Color
LH1 Line1 10.16 11.9 10.16 0 1 Blue
LH2 Line2 10.16 11.2 10.16 0 1 Blue
LH3 Line3 10.16 10.5 10.16 0 1 Blue
LH4 Line4 10.16 9.8 10.16 0 1 Blue
LH5 Line5 10.16 9.1 10.16 0 1 Blue
LH6 Line6 10.16 8.4 10.16 0 1 Blue
LH7 Line7 10.16 7.7 10.16 0 1 Blue
LV1 Vertical1 2.54 7.62 0 7.62 2 Red
LV2 Vertical2 17.78 7.62 0 7.62 1

Red

NOTE: RGB coordinates for Blue are 179,217,255 and for Red are 245,179,255.

 


NSHelp: StimuliStimulus EditorElement PatternElement DimensionsElement AppearanceElement ResultsElement Animation

 

 


© NeuroScript LLC. All Rights Reserved.