The main approach that I have found useful for scoring complex behavioral paradigms is to use a "bitmask" to encode lots of information about what has happened during a trial in a single numeric value. A bitmask is simply a decimal integer value that, when converted to its binary form, represents any arbitrary events that occured during a trial. I find it convenient to think of a bitmask as a summary of a row of light switches.

• If only the first light switch is on, then the integer value will be 1
  • binary = 0000 0001 -> decimal = 1
• If the first and third light switches are on, the integer value will be 5
  • binary = 0000 0101 -> decimal = 5

The ep_BitmaskGen GUI, pictured below, facilitates creating decimal values from any number of events that occur during a single behavioral trial. A table with "function" names is on the left of the GUI. These names, which should probably be renamed to Events, are each some simple statement about what may have occured during a trial. Each of these line items can be turned "on" or "off" by clicking the corresponding checkbox. These are the "light switches" described above. Each time you click a checkbox, you will see the corresponding decimal number update in the state machine table to the right.

More to come ....