OpenSync: An open-source platform for synchronizing multiple measures in neuroscience experiments

Abstract

BackgroundThe human mind is multimodal. Most behavioral studies rely on century-old measures such as task accuracy and latency. To better understand human behavior and brain functionality, we need to analyze physiological and behavioral signals of various sources. However, it is technically complex and costly to design and implement experiments that record multiple measures. To address this issue, a platform that synchronizes multiple measures is needed. MethodThis paper introduces an open-source platform named OpenSync, which can be used to synchronize numerous measures in neuroscience experiments. This platform helps to automatically integrate, synchronize and record physiological and behavioral signals (e.g., electroencephalogram (EEG), galvanic skin response (GSR), eye-tracking, body motion, etc.), user input response (e.g., from mouse, keyboard, joystick, etc.), and task-related information (stimulus markers). In this paper, we explain the features of OpenSync and provide two case studies in PsychoPy and Unity. Comparison with existing toolsUnlike proprietary systems (e.g., iMotions), OpenSync is free and easy to implement, and it can be used inside any open-source experiment design software (e.g., PsychoPy, OpenSesame, Unity, etc., https://pypi.org/project/OpenSync/ and https://github.com/TAMUCogLab/OpenSync). ResultsOur experimental results show that the OpenSync platform is able to synchronize multiple measures with microsecond resolution.