As you might know, it’s currently not possible to get direct millivolt (mV) readings from SpikerBox recordings. If you’re curious about the reasons behind this, here’s a helpful forum thread that goes into more detail:
e class='quote' data-post="2" data-topic="37">
Now that we are moving all of our devices to USB… we can finally calibrate SpikeRecorder. Traditionally, we used the analog in (mic) port for recordings which meant we did not know what the volume was set to on the SpikerBox, or how the different phones attenuated the signals. But thanks to our begrudgingly slow move to USB… we can now capture the signals at the source and tell SpikerRecorder what the voltage was of your signal. (Note that spikes are measured in low milliVolts (mV) or 100s of…
That said, you can still work with the raw signal by converting your .wav recording into numerical data. Here’s how:
Option 1: Using MATLAB
That said, you can still work with the raw signal by converting your .wav file into a CSV format. Here’s one way to do it using MATLAB:
You can use the following commands in MATLAB to read a .wav file and export the signal to a .txt file in CSV format:
[y,Fs] = audioread('name_of_file.wav');
And if you want to save that signal to .txt file in CSV format you can use this function in MATLAB:
csvwrite('csvoutput.txt',y)
Option 2: Using Python (for those comfortable with coding)
If you’re comfortable with programming, there are also Python-based options. For example, you might find this Github repository helpful.
This tool helps convert .wav files into CSV format, similar to the MATLAB method.
Important Note on Sampling Frequency
Once you have your data points, it’s crucial to account for the sampling frequency of the recording to determine when each point occurred in time.
The sampling rate can vary depending on your SpikerBox model and connection method.
To find the sampling frequency, you can:
Load your .wav file into Audacity or other audio editing software
Look at the file properties or metadata to check the sample rate (e.g. 44,100 Hz, 5kHz per channel, etc).
Feel free to share your process or ask if you run into any issues—happy to help!