Contrast Optimized Stimulus Generator (Cosgen)

Florian Aymanns, Horea-Ioan Ioanas, Markus Rudin
2017 Zenodo  
As fMRI measurements are complex, expensive, and often target low-amplitude effects, the statistical optimization of stimulus sequences for specific experimental targets plays an integral role in the experiment design process. We provide an extremely flexible framework to perform such optimizations using the genetic algorithm (GA) introduced by Wager and Nichols [6] and improved by Kao et al. [4]. Our Python implementation improves on many aspects of existing solutions, including higher
more » ... rization, API availability, and detailed documen- tation. Because of its modular structure, our implementation is highly adaptable to specific use cases in both human and animal fMRI. Nevertheless, we also provide an easy to use de- fault algorithm, with widely applicable and properly cited presets. The implementation allows full model (design matrix construction and covariance matrix computation) as well as fitness measure specification.
doi:10.5281/zenodo.1000449 fatcat:fm2qiqke6nhs3kqf6pbdlpymau