NeuroSpec Frequently Asked Questions

1. What versions of MATLAB will NeuroSpec work on?
1a. What about recent changes to MATLAB graphics?
2. What if I have an older version of MATLAB?
3. Is it available in any other form?
4. What does it cost?
5. What about other forms of multivariate analysis (e.g. Partial Coherence, Pooled Coherence)?
6. Will it be updated?
7. How do I install it?
8. How do I use it with my own data?
9. Can I use data in row format ?

1. What versions of MATLAB will NeuroSpec work on?
NeuroSpec1.0 and NeuroSpec 2.0 require version 5 or above of MATLAB. It has been tested on version 5.3, version 6.1 and version 7.01. NeuroSpec 2.1 requires version 7 or above of MATLAB. NeuroSpec 2.1 has been tested on MATLAB versions 7.1 and 8.1. NeuroSpec 2.11 has been tested on MATLAB version 8.5. No toolboxes are required to run NeuroSpec.
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1a. What about recent changes to MATLAB graphics?
From MATLAB 2014b onwards a new graphics system was introduced. A number of the changes are not backward compatible. Line drawing in NeuroSpec plotting is not affected by these changes. A number of features in the time-frequency plots used in NS 2.0 Type 2 analysis are no longer supported, thus the demonstrations scripts for Type 2 analysis will not show the correct results. Note: These changes do not affect the analysis routines, only the plotting for Type 2 analysis with a range of offsets. For more details on the changes to MATLAB graphics and the compatability issues see:
http://uk.mathworks.com/products/matlab/matlab-graphics/index.html

An update to NS 2.0 was released in July 2016, (ver 2.01, download from home page). NS 2.1 and NS 2.11 are not affected by the changes to the MATLAB graphics system.
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2. What if I have an older version of MATLAB?
One of the main differences between v5 and earlier versions of MATLAB was the introduction of additional data types. NeuroSpec uses structures to pass arguments to and from its functions. These are not supported in earlier versions of MATLAB. If you wish to use NeuroSpec with an older version of MATLAB it should be possible to modify the routines to replace the cl and flags structures with a numeric array and obtain most of the functionality.
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3. Is it available in any other form?
Not at present.
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4. What does it cost?
NeuroSpec is free. It is covered by the GNU General Public Licence, a copy of which is included in the distribution file.
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5. What about other forms of multivariate analysis (e.g. Partial Coherence, Pooled Coherence)?
It is planned to add additional functionality to NeuroSpec.
Pooled coherence analysis was added in version 2.0.
Partial coherence analysis was added in version 2.1 for a single predictor.
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6. Will it be updated?
Occasional updates are planned. If you would like to be informed of these please let me know: contact@neurospec.org .
Version 1.0 was released 22 Nov 2002.
Version 2.0 was released 29 Feb 2008, graphics update ver 2.01 released 12 Jul 2016.
Version 2.1 was released 08 June 2015.
Version 2.11 was released 01 July 2016.
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7. How do I install it?
Download the distribution files neurospec20.zip and/or neurospec211.zip from the home page. Download the user guides neurospec20.pdf and/or neurospec211.pdf from the home page. Installation instructions are given in section 3 of each user guide.
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8. How do I use it with my own data?
Please refer to the demonstration scripts supplied in the distribution files and the user guide to see how NeuroSpec is used with time series data and point process data.
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9. Can I use data in row format ?
We adopt the MATLAB convention for matrix data of using a column format. If your data is in row format you will need to transpose it before passing it to the analysis routines.
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Last updated 12 July 2016