PsychoPy Builder

Here is a guide to running explorepy inside PsychoPy experiments. We will demonstrate how to record data, set markers, and push to lab streaming layer (LSL).

Install software

Download explorepy

Download Anaconda.
Open the Anaconda prompt and create a virtual environment: conda create -n psychopyenv python=3.8
Activate the virtual environment: conda activate psychopyenv
Download explorepy, and extract the files.

Edit explorepy

How the explorepy code should look — Comment out line 215.

Open the explorepy-1.8.0\src\explorepy\stream_processor.py script using a text editor (e.g. right-click → open with → Notepad).
Comment out line 215: logger.info(f"Setting a marker with code: {code}"). (To do this add a # at the beginning of this line.)
Save your changes, the code should look like the figure.
Navigate to the explorepy-1.8.0 directory in your terminal: cd <PATH-TO-EXPLOREPY>
Install explorepy: pip install .

Download PsychoPy

Download the PsychoPy source code and extract the files.
Navigate to the extracted folder (i.e. PsychoPy-2023.1.0) in your terminal: cd <PATH-TO-PSYCHOPY>
Install PsychoPy: pip install .
Run PsychoPy: python psychopy\app\psychopyApp.py

To open PsychoPy next time:
1. Open Anaconda prompt
2. Navigate to the PsychoPy folder (step 11 above)
3. Run PsychoPy: python psychopy\app\psychopyApp.py (step 12 above)

Use explorepy in PsychoPy builder

Initialize

In order to run explorepy, you will need to add a Code component to your experiment. In the “Begin Experiment” section, setup and initialize streaming, recording (optional) or push to LSL (optional).

PsychoPy add code screenshot — Look for add **Code** option.

To do this, add the following code to your Code file:

from explorepy import Explore

explore = Explore()
explore.connect(device_name='Explore_XXXX')
explore.push2lsl()
explore.record_data(file_name='recorded_trial_02', file_type='csv', do_overwrite=False)

If you have multiple code components in your experiment, this initialization script should be only in one of them.

Line 4: enter your device’s ID, which is the last 4 digits on the label on the back of your Mentalab Explore device. E.g., Explore_CA52.
Line 6: remember to set the filename; the file type can be csv or edf (CSV recommended).

Set an event marker

Begin routine in PsychoPy — If you need a marker at the start of a loop,
use the "Begin Routine" tab.

To set an event marker in your recorded data, use the set_marker method. For instance, if there is a loop and the beginning of each iteration should be marked, call set_marker in the “Begin Routine” section of your Code component.

If instead you would like to mark multiple event types, you can assign specific codes to each type of marker using the following pattern:

if cond == 'left':
    explore.set_marker(10)
elif cond == 'right':
    explore.set_marker(11)
elif cond == 'up':
    explore.set_marker(12)
elif cond == 'down':
    explore.set_marker(13)

Example

Here, you find an PsychoPy experiment. The file iterates over 4 conditions (left, right, up and down) while recording the data. As each trial begins, a marker event is set in the recorded data. The data and event markers are pushed to LSL at the same time.

To change the name of the Mentalab Explore device and the recorded file:

Click on “trial” in the Flow section
Click “code” in the Routines section
Change the relevant arguments in the script in the “Begin Experiment” tab

For more information or support, do not hesitate to get in contact at: support@mentalab.com