An interface between Matlab and the 1401

"Matced" is an interface that allows Matlab to directly control the CED 1401 data acquisition system. This allows one to have a powerful front-end computing environment to process and plot data sampled by the CED. At the same time one can program the CED-1401 using Matlab's M-files. Together with Matlab's graphical user interface (uicontrol) one can easily build a complete windows application using M-files.

Dario Ringach,
Department of Neurobiology and Psychology,
Jules Stein Eye Institute & Brain Research Institute,
David Geffen School of Medicine,
University of California, Los Angeles,
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563
USA
email: dario@ucla.edu

32-bit version

Jim Colebatch has kindly converted the work above to a 32 bit version needed for modern versions of Matlab. Down-load matced32.zip which WinZip will expand to give you matced32.c, matced32.dll, matced32.m and mat1401X.m and mat1301Xp.m - the last two are example code which are simple example programs. In the latest revision, he says:

The DLL includes the option of a call to U14WorkingSet, and subroutines with errors now always return the error code.

64 bit mex file for Matlab to interface to use1432

Jim has also made available a 64 bit mex file for Matlab to interface to the use1432.dll. Down-load matced64c.zip and expand for the mex file and example m files. Jim explains:

I have chosen the name matced64c to indicate that this is a compatible version, so no 64bit-specific variables have been used.

matced64c.mexw64 should be put in a directory in the Matlab path, along with use1432.dll version as supplied.

The mex file can be tested using the m files included, namely mat1401X_64c.m, mat1401Xp_64c.m and mat1401TF_64c.m and they show how you should call the mex interface and how you should modify your existing m files.

Matlab GUI for 1401

Jim has also provided a Matlab GUI to use the 1401, matgui.zip. It works with version 6.5.1, 7.0 and 7.1 (at least) and allows simple data collection directly into Matlab. It uses his MATCED32.DLL, above.

The code illustrates a number of features of the Matlab GUI, in particular how variables are saved and can be passed between windows.

There is also a 64 bit version, a1401gui_64.zip.

Neuroscience tools for MATLAB

sigTOOL provides a programming and analysis environment for processing neuroscience data. A graphical-user interface to this environment provides the end-user with a self-contained application for waveform and spike-train analysis. User-written extensions to this application can be added to the interface on-the-fly without the need to modify any of the existing code. Spike2 and Signal file formats are included in the import selection. Click here to read more.

Malcolm Lidierth,
Sensory Function Group,
Centre for Neuroscience Research,
Hodgkin Building,
KCL Guy's Hospital,
London
SE1 1UL
UK
email: malcolm.lidierth@kcl.ac.uk

A MATLAB SON library

Down-load MATLAB SON Library as part of sigTOOL, which contains routines for loading/writing/creating Spike2 for Windows files in MATLAB, from http://sigtool.sourceforge.net.

Malcolm Lidierth,
Sensory Function Group,
Centre for Neuroscience Research,
Hodgkin Building,
KCL Guy's Hospital,
London
SE1 1UL
UK
email: malcolm.lidierth@kcl.ac.uk

A MATLAB CFS library

Down-load the MATLAB CFS Library.zip, which contains routines for loading/writing/creating Signal files in MATLAB.

Jim has tested these files with Matlab 6.5.1 and several versions of Matlab 7 - up to R2007a (Matlab 7.5). All seems to work OK. The support files describe how to use the calls and give several example m files. They are all in the zip file, updated 24 February 2016.

64 bit mex file for Matlab to interface to cfs files (using CFS64c.dll)

Jim has also made available a 64 bit mex file for Matlab to interface to CFS files. Down-load matcfs64c.zip and expand for the mex file and example m files. Jim explains:

I have chosen matcfs64c to indicate that this a compatible version, so no 64bit-specific variables have been used.

matcfs64c.mexw64 should be put in a directory in the Matlab path, along with CFS64c.dll version as supplied.

The mex file can be tested using the m files included, namely cfsRead64c and cfsWriteRL64c.

Jim Colebatch,
Institute of Neurological Sciences,
The Prince of Wales Hospital,
Randwick
Australia
Tel (Int) +61 2 9399 0111 email: J.Colebatch@unsw.edu.au

CFS data into MATLAB: Biosig

Biosig provides a common interface to over 40 different data formats,

• save2gdf, command line tools for data conversion
• SigViewer, a viewing and scoring of tools for physiological signals
• mexSLOAD to read CFS data into Matlab and Octave
• A number of Matlab/Octave functions for data processing

Dr. Alois Schlögl,
Institute of Science and Technology Austria,
Am Campus 1,
3400 Klosterneuburg
Austria
email: alois.schloegl@ist.ac.at

Use 1401 from LabVIEW

These files enable LabVIEW users to interface to the CED 1401 via the CED Windows Library: USE1432.DLL. They provide function calls listed in the CED Programmer's Interface Library for Windows as LabVIEW vi's in 1401.llb, together with LabVIEW test programmes in Test1401.llb and Word documentation in Lv1432.doc. The functions are written for Windows 95/98 and NT.

Download the archive .zip file.

Prof E F Evans, (retired)
Dept of Communication and Neuroscience,
Keele University,
Keele,
Staffs
ST5 5BG
UK
Tel +44 (0)1782 583054

Using the 1401 under VB.NET 1.1

Files CEDVB02Net.zip and u1432class.zip are a wrapper class for use1432.dll and some example code, both for VB.NET.

Jim Colebatch,
Institute of Neurological Sciences,
The Prince of Wales Hospital,
Randwick
Australia
Tel (Int) +61 2 9399 0111 email: J.Colebatch@unsw.edu.au

Convert HPGL .plt files to enhanced metafile

The program HPGLLoad.exe is intended to convert HPGL .plt files, typically from SIGAVG, into an enhanced metafile format for direct use e.g. in a Word document.

Jim Colebatch,
Institute of Neurological Sciences,
The Prince of Wales Hospital,
Randwick
Australia
Tel (Int) +61 2 9399 0111 email: J.Colebatch@unsw.edu.au

Graphical user interface for processing motor
evoked potentials

The program palMEP_v1.0_x64_setup_7_7_2017.exe is an easy to use and open source graphical user interface for pre-processing and basic analysis of motor evoked potentials elicited by magnetic or electric stimulation. palMEP allows both manual and automated processing of either single or multiple files at once. It supports CED Signal and Spike2 files, as well as generic csv files.

Dr Ruben Perellón Alfonso,
IDIBAPS, Neurophysiology,
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585,
08007 Barcelona,
Spain
email: ruben.palfonso@gmail.com

Spike2 script syntax highlighting in Atom

I made a grammar language-spike2 for Atom editor. It's rather primitive, but you can enjoy syntax highlighting for Spike2 script language in macOS as well.

Kouichi C. Nakamura,
MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit,
Department of Pharmacology,
Mansfield Road,
Oxford OX1 3TH
UK
Tel (Int) +44 1865-271582 email: kouichi.c.nakamura@gmail.com.

Convert CFS files for import to Excel

The program CFS2EXCEL is intended to convert CFS data files, typically from SIGAVG or CHART, into a form suitable for import into Excel. It only works with CFS files which are equally spaced integer data - such as standard SIGAVG files.

The zip file contains a full description of the program along with the file set as a self-expander.

Sean Kelly,
Department of Child Health, Sir James Spence Institute, R.V.I.
Newcastle
NE1 4LP
UK
Tel (0191) 2023007 email: sean.kelly@newcastle.ac.uk

Read Spike2 (SON) files in Python

SON LIBRARY for PYTHON

For reading data from CED's Spike2 Son files.

Based on SON Library 2.0 for MATLAB, written by Malcolm Lidierth at King's College London. See http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/biohealth/depts/physiology/mlidierth.html

Using the library

For details read the file __init__.py, or type the following in a Python shell (after placing the sonpy directory in your Python search path):

>>> from sonpy import son >>> help(son)

Antonio Gonzalez,
Department of Neuroscience,
Karolinska Institutet,
Stockholm,
Sweden
email: Antonio.Gonzalez@ki.se

John Dempster Strathclyde SES

The Strathclyde Electrophysiology Software is NOT contributed software to this site, but it is a very widely used suite of programs for recording and analysing signals from intracellular electrophysiology experiments, that can run with members of the CED 1401 family.