What are map patterns?
Map patterns are arrays specifying the sequential order of stimulation sites in a stimulus grid.
For example, a map pattern for a 2-by-2 grid is:
1 3
4 2
In other words, the beam is first flashed at position 1, then 2, etc.
Map pattern variants
In circuit mapping experiments it is often desirable to acquire not just one but several maps per cell (e.g. for averaging), using different sequences for each map trial. This can be done by reflecting and/or rotating a map pattern.
For example, a horizontally reflected version of the 2-by-2 pattern above is:
3 1
2 4
and a 180 degree rotated variant is:
2 4
3 1
Using map patterns
Download the standard set of map patterns (see Model Data File Archives section above), and place these files in a settings directory called 'mapPatterns'. The mapper gui needs to be configured to know which map patterns folder to use. In the mapper gui, the map patterns listbox will show all the patterns available in the folder. Although you can create your own custom map patterns, we recommend you first become familiar with using the standard ones provided with Ephus.