Experimental Control Equipment
The scanner control room is outfitted with a Mac and a PC that are interfaced to the scanner (for synchronization) and to the video display and audio equipment (Etymotic ER-30 headphones with a dedicated headphone amplifier) to present stimuli to participants as they are being scanned.
These presentation computers also sample button-press responses (Rowland USB Response Box system) and collect eye-tracking data for those protocols that use such responses. The eye-tracker is an ASL-5000 long-optics corneal reflection system that, along with a video projector (JVC DILA projector), is located in a room adjacent to but outside of the scanner vault.
Standard software packages for stimulus display and response recording (e.g., PsyScope, Presentation, E-Prime, RT-Direct, Psychophysics Toolbox, and Matlab) are preloaded on these computers. Stimulus presentation on the computers can be synchronized with the MRI scanner. The MRI system is operated by a certified MR technician employed by the RCBI.