An OpenSesame plug-in collection for sending stimulus synchronization triggers and for response collection through EventExchanger-2 USB hardware.
Copyright 2024, Martin Stokroos
Contributions: This code is based on the work of Eise Hoekstra and Mark M. Span. The code is debugged and expanded by Martin Stokroos.
The OpenSesame plug-in collection for use with Event-Exchanger (EVT-2) USB-devices.
EVT-devices and the associated plug-ins are developed by the Research Support department from the faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences from the University of Groningen.
The currently supported OpenSesame version is from v4.0
The following plug-ins are available:
| plug-in | Description | OpenSesame back-end | operating system | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| evt_trigger | plug-in for event exchanger EVT-2,3 and 4 variants for generating triggers | PyGame, PsychoPy | Windows | ok |
| response_box | plug-in for all of the RSP12x button response box variants with 1-8 buttons | PyGame, PsychoPy | Windows | ok |
| rsp_pygame | plug-in for RSP12x button response box variants with 1-8 buttons | PyGame | Windows, Linux | ok |
| tactile_stimulator | plug-in for the Electrotactile Stimulator (SHK-1B) 0-5mA | PyGame | Windows | ok |
| vas_evt | A Visual Analog Slider plug-in controlled via an encoder knob connected to the EVT-2 | PyGame | Windows | not validated |
| vas_gui | A Visual Analog Slider plug-in controlled via the PC-mouse on a predefined canvas (sketchpad) | PyGame | Windows, Linux | Mouse response not ok in Linux. |
| rgb_led_control | plug-in for multi-color LED response boxes | PyGme | Windows | not validated |
The plug-ins are dependent on the Python module pyevt and the underlying hidapi package.
https://pypi.org/project/hidapi/
pyevt and hidapi are installed from the Python Console in OpenSesame with the single command:
!pip install --user pyevt
NOTE: Currently, the plug-in package is not released as pip package yet. Instead, clone this repository and copy the plug-ins manually into your OpenSesame python package folder.
By default, the OpenSesame 4.0 plug-ins are installed as python site-package and automatically loaded at the startup.
When the plug-ins are located somewhere else, add your path to the python-path of OpenSesame in the environment.yaml file in the OpenSesame program directory (The OPENSESAME_plug-in_PATH is old style). See for the instructions here: https://rapunzel.cogsci.nl/manual/environment/
Possible Modes:
- Write output line
- Reset output lines
- Invert output lines
- Pulse output lines
This response-box plug-in works for EVT devices as well for joystick devices. It makes use of the pygame joystick API and is platform independent.
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List of the variables that appear in the OpenSesame variable inspector when using the tactile_stimulator plug-in:
| variable name | description |
|---|---|
| tactstim_calibration_perc | The percentage of the slider setting for the stimulus current of up to 5mA rms max. |
| tactstim_calibration_milliamp | The calibration value of the stimulus current in mA's. This is the max. current applied to the subject. |
| tactstim_calibration_value | The byte value representation of the calibrated current. |
| tactstim_pulse_milliamp | The actual current in mA's, applied to the subject when pulsing. |
| tactstim_pulse_value | The actual byte value representation that is sent to the tactile stimulator. |
| tactstim_pulse_duration_ms | The pulse duration time in ms. |
| tactstim_time_last_pulse | Unique time stamp in seconds from the moment of the shock. |
The vas_evt plug-in does not work standalone, but requires a linkage to a custom designed sketchpad screen from the GUI!
The vas_gui plug-in does not work standalone, but requires a linkage to a custom designed sketchpad screen from the GUI!
Here below is the list of the variables that will appear in the OpenSesame variable inspector when using the vas_gui plug-in:
| variable name | description |
|---|---|
| vas_response | This value is the reading from the VAS object, ranging from 0 to 100. |
| vas_response_time | this is the repsonse time in ms. The value -1 means that the timeout period was reached. |
This plug-in works for the RSP-LT device, a response-box with RGB-controlled LED buttons.
The evt-plug-ins collection is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License 3. The full license should be included in the file COPYING, or can be obtained from
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt
This plug-in collection contains works of others.
Installation instructions and documentation on OpenSesame are available on the documentation website: