Halifax, Canada: August 29, 2014

Important notes

• Working with MEG/EEG recordings involves a lot of computational resources and large display windows. Therefore we recommend that you bring a laptop with a decent processing capacity and a screen larger than 13".

• You would also add to your comfort by bringing an external mouse. Most of the manipulations are done with the mouse, and some involve an intensive use of the scrolling operation. A mouse wheel or the "two-finger move" on MacBooks are perfect for this, but this operation is not always easy to perform on some laptops.

• Don't forget your power adapter!

Installation instructions

Before coming to the workshop, you need to download the software and the tutorial dataset from the Brainstorm website (250Mb). To streamline troubleshooting during the session, please save all the downloaded files on your Desktop.

1. From the Brainstorm Download page, log in or create a Brainstorm account (registration is free)

2. Download the following files to your Desktop folder:

   • Brainstorm software: brainstorm_YYMMDD.zip (62 Mb)

   • Tutorial dataset: workshop_auditory.zip (191 Mb)

3. If you already have Brainstorm, make sure that the version was released after August 11th.

4. Unzip the two downloaded files on your desktop
5. Delete the zip files

6. Create a folder "brainstorm_db" on your Desktop folder

7. Final check: you should have now 3 folders on your desktop:

   • brainstorm3: Program folder, with the Matlab source code and the compiled executable

   • brainstorm_db: Brainstorm database (empty)

   • workshop_auditory: Example dataset used during the training session

8. Run Brainstorm, to make sure it works correctly on your computer (read the following section)

Running Brainstorm for the first time

With Matlab

1. Start Matlab

2. Do NOT add brainstorm3 folder to your Matlab path: this will be done automatically

3. Go to the brainstorm3 folder
4. Type "brainstorm" in the command window
5. When asked for the Brainstorm database folder, pick the "brainstorm_db" you have just created

Without Matlab

1. Those instructions are valid for the following operating systems:

   • Windows: Any version (details)

   • Linux: Ubuntu 12.04+, RedHat 6.x, Debian 6.x, SUSE 11.3+ (details)

   • MacOS: MacOSX 10.7.4+ (Lion), 10.8 (Mountain Lion), 10.9 (Mavericks) (details)

   • If your system is not listed here, try with another version: 2012b or 2013b

2. Download the MCR R2014a (8.3) for your operating system: Mathworks website

3. Install the MCR:
   • Windows: Double-click on the .exe and follow the instructions
   • Linux: From a terminal, unzip .zip, then run ./install
   • MacOS: Click on the zip file to unzip it, then click on "InstallForMacOSX".
4. Run the program in brainstorm3/bin/R2014a/

   • Windows: Double-click on brainstorm3.bat

   • MacOS: Double-click on brainstorm3.command and wait for instructions

   • Linux: From a terminal, run:
     cd brainstorm3/bin/R2014a/
     ./brainstorm3.command

5. Troubleshooting for MacOS or Linux:

   • From a terminal, make sure that the file "brainstorm3.command" is executable:
     chmod a+x brainstorm3.command

   • If nothing happens, run:
     ./brainstorm3.command MCR_DIR
     MCR_DIR is the MCR 8.3 folder (ex: /Applications/MATLAB/MCR/v83)

   • Try with another binary release: Matlab 2012b, Matlab 2013b

6. On Linux or MacOS, you will be prompted to select the folder where you installed the MCR.
7. When asked for the Brainstorm database folder, pick the "brainstorm_db" you have just created.

Getting ready for the workshop

In order to make sure that Brainstorm works properly and to get more familiar with the software, we recommend that you read and follow at least the first two online tutorials:

1. ?Brainstorm architecture

2. ?First steps

Troubleshooting

For any technical problem, please contact Francois Tadel ( francois.tadel@mcgill.ca )