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Step 2: Set up your task experiment

Different tools can be used to implement a task experiment.
The best choice depends on your setup (behavioural, MRI, MEG, etc.).

This section gives practical recommendations and points you to supported workflows.

For behavioural experiments and MRI tasks, we recommend using PsychoPy.

PsychoPy provides:

  • a graphical user interface (Builder)
  • minimal programming requirements
  • easy integration with BIDS via the psychopy-bids plugin

This allows you to directly generate BIDS-compatible event files!

Presentation

If you are using Presentation, we provide:

Note:
Additional processing is usually required after conversion.
We recommend using the HED Remodeler.

MEG experiments

For MEG experiments, we recommend:

Implement your experiment using PsychoPy

We recommend using the PsychoPy template provided by the ANC.

Accessing the template (CCNS users)

You can create a new experiment project in:

ANC Experiments (GitLab)

Steps:

  • Click Create project
  • Select Create from template
  • Switch to Group templates
  • Select Psychopy template
  • Choose a project name
  • (Optional) adjust project slug
  • Choose visibility
  • (Optional) add description

Not a CCNS user?

You can still use the template:

PsychoPy Template

Clone the repository and copy the files into your own project.

What the template provides

The template includes:

  • a working example experiment
  • predefined event types
  • BIDS-compatible logging via psychopy-bids
  • instructions for:
  • running the experiment
  • adapting it to your own study

For details on specific components, see:

Component description

We recommend following the GitLab workflow described here:

ANC basic GitLab workflow

Using PsychoPy with Python (Coder)

If you use PsychoPy in Python (Coder view):

Coder

Notes:

  • experiments run in a virtual environment
  • you must provide a requirements.txt file

Alternative tools

You can use other software to implement your experiment.

Important:

  • Make sure all relevant event information is recorded
  • You must convert the output to a BIDS-compatible events file
  • This may require additional processing