independent attenuation for punish sound

Brynn

Hi Josh,

I’m currently working on a Bpod protocol where I want to set a fixed attenuation specifically for the punish sound, without affecting the attenuation of other sounds(I' m giving a variable sound as stimulus). I’m using the HiFi module for sound playback. How should I do?

That's how I set the attenuation

AmplitudeFixed = -25;  % fixed sound level = 70dB
AmplitudeVariable = [-55 -45 -35 -25];  % variable sound level = [30 40 50 60]

% 
if S.GUI.TrainingStage == 1
    FA = ones(1, MaxTrials) * AmplitudeFixed;  
elseif S.GUI.TrainingStage == 2
    random_index = randi(length(AmplitudeVariable), 1, MaxTrials);  
    FA = AmplitudeVariable(random_index);  
end

 H.DigitalAttenuation_dB = FA(currentTrial);

Thanks!

Brynn

Josh

Hello Brynn,

Unfortunately digital attenuation cannot be set directly from the state machine, and setting it in MATLAB in your protocol's main loop would affect your entire trial.

There are two options:

Apply the attenuation factor directly to the waveform before uploading it. This will use fewer bits of the converter's full bit-width, but the loss may be acceptable for many applications.
Use five punish states:
A. The first sends a soft code to the PC. You'd write a soft code handler function to run H.DigitalAttenuation_dB = FA(currentTrial); You may want FA to be global to make it visible to the soft code handler.
B. The second state waits for a soft code from the PC, sent by the handler after setting the attenuation. This confirms to the state machine that the new attenuation has been set.
C. Play the punish sound, and stay in this state until it ends.
D + E are like A + B, but to return the attenuation to its prior value.

More examples of soft codes and their usage are given here.

Please let me know if you run into any issues implementing these.

Thanks,

Josh

Brynn

Hi,
I tried to write soft code handler function and redefine the states, but it cannot work,
here is my state and soft code handler function,

sma = AddState(sma, 'Name', 'SetPunishAttenuation', ...
    'Timer', .001,...
    'StateChangeConditions', {'Tup', 'WaitforSoftCode1'},...
    'OutputActions', {'SoftCode',1});
sma = AddState(sma, 'Name', 'WaitforSoftCode1', ...
    'Timer', .001,...
    'StateChangeConditions', {'SoftCode1', 'PlayPunishSound'},...
    'OutputActions', {});
sma = AddState(sma, 'Name', 'PlayPunishSound', ...
    'Timer', S.GUI.ErrorDelay,...
    'StateChangeConditions', {'Tup', 'ResetAttenuation'},...
    'OutputActions', {'HiFi1', ['P' 2]});
sma = AddState(sma, 'Name', 'ResetAttenuation', ...
    'Timer', .001,...
    'StateChangeConditions', {'Tup', 'WaitforSoftCode2'},...
    'OutputActions', {'SoftCode', 2});
sma = AddState(sma, 'Name', 'WaitforSoftCode2', ...
    'Timer', .001,...
    'StateChangeConditions', {'SoftCode2', '>exit'},...
    'OutputActions', {});

function SoftCodeHandler_ErrorSound(softcode)
global BpodSystem

if softcode == 1
       BpodSystem.PluginObjects.Sound.DigitalAttenuation_dB = -20;
elseif softcode == 2
       BpodSystem.PluginObjects.Sound.DigitalAttenuation_dB = FA(currentTrial);
end

and I also added
BpodSystem.SoftCodeHandlerFunction = 'SoftCodeHandler_ErrorSound';
in the protocol.

When I run the protocol, it gets stuck at WaitforSoftCode1 and doesn’t proceed to PlayPunishSound. No error is shown in the command window either.

Do you have any suggestions for what might be causing the soft code not to be received or acknowledged by the state machine?

Thanks so much!

Josh

Hello Brynn,

Please try moving the function SoftCodeHandler_ErrorSound() to its own .m file in the protocol folder, named SoftCodeHandler_ErrorSound.m

Are you seeing any error message?

Thanks,
Josh

Brynn

Josh
Hi Josh,

Thanks for your advice. But I had put the function in an own .m file in the protocol folder. Still I can't see any error.

Thanks,
Brynn

Josh

Sorry I missed it earlier - your soft code handler needs an additional line:
SendBpodSoftCode(1);

Here are the docs for SendBpodSoftCode()

Josh