You should know how to use triggers and group codes.  In MEG/MRI the data is usually recorded continuously. Therefore you need to know when a stimulus was presented and what was actually presented. Triggers in your stimulus presentation software tell you, and the scanner, when a specific stimulus was presented. Whereas group codes, which are optional, are used to provide extra information about which group of triggers the stimulus is affiliated to. The use of triggers allow you to relate the the timing of physiological responses in the brain to the onset of your stimuli. Different trigger/group code values can be assigned to different stimuli conditions for comparing condition in data analysis. Triggers/group codes are used as the basis for averaging your data later on. You should check that your triggers/group codes are working properly before the pilot scan.

You should use appropriate stimulus delivery software.  As described above, trigger codes and group codes need to be integrated with your stimulus presentation software. At YNiC, the following software allows you to integrate the necessary triggers with your trials:

Unfortunately, it is not the case that one stimulus presentation package suits all experimental paradigms. In general, we advise Presentation over over E-Prime; in particular, E-Prime is not well suited for auditory paradigms in imaging studies. However, should you only be using auditory stimuli in MEG, then the Python in-house tools are most suitable. If you are unsure about the most appropriate stimulus presentation software for you, you may want to raise your concerns at your Project Presentation.

You must book the scan rooms every time you want to use them.  There may be times when you need to use MEG/MRI even when you are not scanning a participant e.g. using stimulus delivery software/hardware for checking triggers, setting up fMRI scanning paradigm etc. In these cases you must book MEG/MRI. Until your project is in the “Scan” state, all bookings must be made by contacting your SLO.