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Open Ephys NWB File Structure (based on version 1.0.4_beta)
(NOTE: The current version of the NWB record format on the development branch of Open Ephys is untested and unfinished so it might have bugs or fields not completely complying with the specification. A current known issue is that the messages and event timestamps are not saved in seconds but in sample numbers. The value in seconds can be manually obtained by dividing the sample number by the relevant source sample rate)
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Top-level groups (always created):
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/session_start_time: date + time in ISO format (text)
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/acquisition group:
All of the data generated during recording should be stored in this group.
For writing continuous data, we use the NWB ElectricalSeries:
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./unit: 'seconds' (text attr)
* = processorID_subprocessorID (e.g., 101_1, 102_1, etc.)
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*** = index of electrode (1, 2, 3, etc.)
Rules for creating new files, versus creating new groups:
- If acquisition is stopped, create a new file (experiment1.nwb, experiment2.nwb, etc.). Timestamps are reset to zero.
- If recording is stopped (but acquisition is active), create a new group (recording1, recording2, etc.). Timestamps are relative to start of acquisition.
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/general group:
All of the experimental metadata should be stored in this group. Eventually, we should have a pop-up window inside the GUI that allows the user to input various parameters (e.g., subject name, experimenter name) that will be automatically written here.
/general/data_collection/software: 'Open Ephys GUI vX.X.X' (text attr)
/general/data_collection/configuration: XML string of config file (text attr)
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