Razavi, Moein, Janfaza, Vahid, Yamauchi, Takashi, Leontyev, Anton, Longmire-Monford, Shanle, and Orr, Joseph
The 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. This 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. Unlike 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). Our experimental results show that the OpenSync platform is able to synchronize multiple measures with microsecond resolution. • Opensource platform to synchronize multiple measures in neuroscience experiments. • Automatically record physiological measures, user input and task markers. • Guidelines and source files for easy extension to add other devices to the platform. • Can be integrated in opensource stimulus presentation software (e.g., PsychoPy, Unity, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]