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Importing Data

Cortex files - the Makdat Command

MatOFF supports Cortex data files by providing the Makdat command. Cortex is a free and powerful real-time data acquisition system developed for neurophysiology by the Laboratory of Neuropsychology at the National Institute of Mental Health. The Makdat command prepares Cortex files for MatOFF. Makdat is a powerful command, with a large list of options and its own configuration file. Options built into the Makdat command can filter out event codes, change the code mapping of spike channels, enable and disable analog channels, and provide detailed listings of the data file contents. Despite this plethora of features, Makdat can be used without too much fuss.

Plexon (.plx) files - the plx2ctx Program

Files created by the Plexon MAP (Plexon, Inc.) data collection hardware can be converted to the Cortex data file format using plx2ctx. Makdat can then be used to use the resulting files with MatOFF. plx2ctx was originally a DOS/Windows program that used a CygnusWin dll. A new version of plx2ctx (wplx2ctx) is now available for Windows 2000 and XP that has been compiled with the Microsoft compiler. It is still a command-line program. Work is underway to build a Neuroshare to Cortex conversion program to expand the range of file types MatOFF can use.

Other files

We are happy to support any laboratory that wishes to write a conversion program for MatOFF. The task is not difficult for programmers with MATLAB experience. Contact the MatOFF webmaster for more information. We hope that anyone who writes a conversion program will share it. Under most conditions, we are willing to add the conversion program to the MatOFF distribution.

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