Introduction and Background Information on NeuroSpec.

NeuroSpec consists of a number of MATLAB functions for performing multivariate Fourier analysis of time series and/or point process (spike train or event) data, and plotting the results. The software consists of a number of MATLAB functions for performing time and frequency domain analyses of time series and/or point process data, and plotting the results. NeuroSpec 2.0 implements a multivariate spectral analysis, it includes routines for two channel auto spectral and cross spectral (coherence, phase, cumulant density) analysis, and a number of extensions including comparison of spectra, a stationarity test for spectra, comparison of coherence, system identification (gain, phase and impulse response), and pooled analysis (pooled spectra, pooled coherence, pooled phase, pooled cumulant density). Pooled analysis incorporates extended difference of spectra and extended difference of coherence tests. It was designed primarily for use on Neural data, but is suited to a wide range of stationary stochastic (random) signals.

Theoretical and practical aspects of the analysis are described in the following articles:
Rosenberg, J.R., Amjad, A.M., Breeze, P., Brillinger, D.R. & Halliday, D.M. "The fourier approach to the identification of functional coupling between neuronal spike trains", Progress in Biophysics and molecular Biology, 53, 1-31, 1989.

Halliday D.M., Rosenberg J.R., Amjad A.M., Breeze P., Conway B.A. & Farmer S.F. “A framework for the analysis of mixed time series/point process data - Theory and application to the study of physiological tremor, single motor unit discharges and electromyograms”, Progress in Biophysics and molecular Biology, 64, 237-278, 1995.


These articles, and other related articles on multivariate Fourier analysis of Neural data, are available from David Halliday’s publication page: http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~dh20/. A more comprehensive list of background references is included in the NeuroSpec user guide, available from the home page.


Acknowledgements
NeuroSpec has been written by David Halliday. The following people have all contributed to the development of the framework : Jay Rosenberg, Bernie Conway, Abdul Majeed Amjad, Alex Rigas, David Murray-Smith, Joe Lau, Peter Breeze, Simon Farmer, Jens Nielsen, Yang Zhan & John-Stuart Brittain.

Development of NeuroSpec
has been supported in part by grants from the UK Joint Research Council Cognitive Science/HCI Initiative, The Wellcome Trust (Grants 036928; 048128; 058615), the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (GR/R12350/01), and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (10477).

NeuroSpec is hosted by the Department of Electronics, University of York: http://www.elec.york.ac.uk/


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David Halliday,
Department of Electronics,
University of York,
YORK YO10 5DD, UK.

Last updated 3 March 2008