A versatile software system for controlling various within-subject tasks in behaving monkeys and humans: application to an attention task

Abstract

A multi-purpose software system is described for controlling a variety of tasks used in experiments on behaving monkeys and humans. It involved two programs, a real-time unit and a task editor. The former used editable pixel maps flashed on a computer screen as visual stimuli and operated according to a control list of trial parameters specifying the various components of each trial in the behavioural session. It involved an interrupt-driven driver interface for clock control and response analysis, and a main code managing the session process, disk access and stimulus display. The task editor was used to generate the list of trial parameters and edit the pixel-map of signals. It generated a task file used by the real-time unit. Experimental manipulations could be implemented through the organisation of the behavioural session by trial types corresponding to the different behavioural conditions. The system’s capabilities are illustrated by behavioural results from an attention task in which monkeys increased their attention as a function of task difficulty.