Constantly recording responses
Hi everyone,
I am wondering whether it is possible to keep a response item open that constantly records button presses for at least the entire run phase if not the entire experiment, while the experimental task, which also includes response recordings, is running in parallel.
Specifically, I am currently programming an fMRI experiment. As it is often the case, the fMRI pulse trigger is sent via a keyboard command (button 'T') and I would like to catch the timing of the pulse as well as use the trigger to make my experiment contingent upon it (at least in some cases). However, especially when I am logging actual responses that belong to my task, programming this with response items seems (even with inline code) rather complicated and impractical.
I do encounter a similar problem in my localizer task in which I present different pictures in fast succession (250ms on, 250ms off). With an MRI pulse every 750ms while allowing participants to respond whenever they want, this can become a real nightmare to program...
I'd imagine the ideal solution for this issue to have some form of a response item constantly running in the background and recording the incoming MRI trigger and logging its (absolute) timing. While, in parallel, I'd be able to run my experimental task as I am used to.
Does such a thing exist or is there a better way to solve this issue?
Thanks!