Plexon is proud of the many relationships we have developed in over 20 years of providing tools for neuroscience research. In an effort to stay in close contact with our customers and colleagues, we are implementing a periodic newsletter. The newsletters will contain:

• New product announcements
• Information about new features and options in existing products
• Discussions of new techniques and methods for recording and analysis
• Tech tips from our engineering and customer support staff
• Answers to frequently asked questions and an opportunity for readers to submit their own FAQ

Plexon only engages in permission-based communications. An unsubscribe link is provided at the bottom of each newsletter for easy removal from our mailing list.

We hope that you find the newsletters informative and useful. Our goal is to continue our ongoing dialogue with our customers, and provide the best products, service, and support.

Best regards,
Plexon Newsletter Editor

Plexon is excited to announce the release of Version 1.2 of our Cineplex digital video recording and tracking system, now with Smart Tracking; scheduled release date of March 15. The Smart Tracking algorithms use predictive tracking windows to eliminate the contaminating effects of reflections and better cope in cases where the object of interest momentarily disappears, as when occluded by the headstage cable or the animal’s body. Red, Green, and Blue LED colors are now automatically detected and tracked, for more accurate and reliable object tracking setup and operation.

New features of CinePlex v1.2:

• Smart tracking windows that use speed and trajectory information to predict where the color target is most likely to be, and to focus the tracking algorithms within those areas.
• Definable arenas – round, rectangle, and free-style polygons.
• Improved tracking performance when the color target disappears (for example, occlusions by the headstage cable) and avoiding the contaminating influence of spurious reflections against cables and chamber walls.
• Automatic identification and calibration of LED color tracking. Brightness contrast is first used to identify the locations of LEDs, followed by color information to distinguish different LEDs. No more struggling to manually select the right shade of red to track!
• Improved object contour identification algorithms using color information to detect boundary of animal’s body for center of mass tracking. This, for instance, allows the location of brown mice to be tracked even though the brightness of the brown mouse is similar to that of the background.
• Real-time display of LED trajectory, color markers, or animal’s center of gravity over live video image.

Upgrading to CinePlex v1.2:

Upgrading to CinePlex v1.2 will be free for customers with previous versions of Cineplex; the upgrade will simply involve installing new software. An email will be sent to all existing Cineplex customers on March 15 with instructions on how to perform the free upgrade.

You may have noticed that we have a new web site! Some of the additional content on the new web site includes:

• A system configuration application in which users provide answers to questions regarding their experimental setup and recording requirements. The configuration tool then generates a recommended list of components to build a complete Plexon data acquisition system.
  http://www.plexoninc.com/configuration/configuration.html
• Answers to frequently asked technical questions (FAQs).
  http://www.plexoninc.com/support/faq.html
• A technical documentation search engine and database containing hardware circuit diagrams, connector pin-out information, jumper configuration settings, etc.
  http://www.plexoninc.com/support/cms.html
• Research application pages broken down by Primate, Rodent, and Cell Culture recording, including sample scientific publications by Plexon customers from each research area.
  http://www.plexoninc.com/specialities/research_papers.html
• Geographic maps showing the location of customers with Plexon MAP, Recorder, and MEA Workstations.
  http://www.plexoninc.com/about/mapped_presence.html
  

The second generation of the Plexon/TBSI wireless headstage system is now available. The new headstage is cylindrical in shape, so it is less likely to catch on corners and walls. And it is lighter weight – less than 10 grams.

• Weight: 10 grams
• Channel-count: 15
• Range: 1.5 meters
• Operating time: 5 hours

The wireless headstage system eliminates the need for headstage cables and commutators. The system consists of a headstage transmitter unit with a built-in rechargeable battery and a signal receiver/DSP-based signal processing system.

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Below are answers to some commonly asked questions received by our Tech Support Department. You may submit a question to our growing FAQ list here.

[Q] What is the difference between the PBX and PBX2 line of preamps?

[A] PBX preamps have 1-pole filtering on both the upper and lower bandpass. PBX2 preamps have 2-pole filtering on the low-pass filter, and 4-pole filtering on the high-pass filter. Only the PBX preamp has the programmable referencing option, as controlled by the REF2 software. This is identified by the “-r” in the preamp description, such as PBX/32sp-r/16fp. The “-r” at the end of the spike board description means that programmable referencing is available on the spike boards.

[Q] What is the correct word to use when referring to the Multichannel Acquisition Processor?

[A] Older customers will often call the big blue acquisition machine a “Harvey Box”, since they associate the data processor with its inventor, Harvey Wiggins. Nowadays we call it the MAP box.

[Q] What does the –TR or –GR suffix to my headstage description mean?

[A] TR stands for True Reference, and GR stands for Ground Reference. The difference is that a TR headstage uses a dedicated electrode as the signal reference, and a GR uses the common ground from the preamp. Some people use TR to get rid of stimulation or movement artifacts. The reference electrode will pick up the same artifact that the other electrodes will get, and this will be subtracted out in the blue preamp box.

[Q] How do you reinstall the National Instruments drivers and cards?

[A] If you have to reinstall the NI cards (on a new computer, or after wiping the hard drive), then there are several important steps to take. Download the Traditional NI-DAQ (Legacy) Version 7.4.1 here - http://digital.ni.com/softlib.nsf/websearch/3DBF3D343476A28F8625709E006A4937

You will have to register on the NI web site to do this, but it’s a quick process. The download is a 400 megabyte .zip file, so make sure you have the space and time. After downloading, unzip the file to a directory you’ll remember. The most important step is that you have to REMOVE the NI cards from the computer BEFORE installing the drivers. Power down the computer and remove the cards. Power on, and then install the drivers. Power down again, replace the cards in their original location, and then power on. Windows will recognize the cards, and locate the drivers automatically.

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