a python package for operant experiment control

Framework to easily construct and share new operant behavior paradigms.

With PyOperant, you should be able to write a single behavior script that works across different species, different computers, different interfaces, different rewards, different punishments, different modalities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning

• Present a stimulus
• Get the subject’s response
• If the response class matches the stimulus class, then reward the subject
• Otherwise, punish the subject

stimulus.play()
response.get()
if response.class is stimulus.class:
    reward.give()
else:
    punishment.give()

You often have error checking, data storage, and machine-specific hardware interactions jumbled in together. If you want to share a behavioral protocol between different machines (say, from a training panel to an electrophysiology rig), you likely need to write an entirely new script. And if I can't easily share my protocol between two machines in my own lab, how can I possibly share my behavioral protocols with other scientists?

Abstract hardware manipulation, isolating it from operant logic:

1. Define hardware interface(s) in a local configuration file
2. Load hardware as an object that can be manipulated