= Introduction =
Brainstorm is a free Matlab application dedicated to Magnetoencephalography(MEG) and Electroencephalography(EEG) data visualization, processing and cortical source estimation. <<BR>>Our intention is to make a comprehensive set of tools available to the scientific community involved in MEG/EEG experimental research.<<BR>>For physicians and researchers, the interest of this software package resides in its rich and intuitive graphic interface, which does not require any programming knowledge.

== What you can do with Brainstorm ==
 * Import MEG / EEG recordings from the most popular file formats ([[FileFormats|list here]])

 * Pre-processing:

  * Epoching

  * Averaging

  * Frequency filtering

  * Resampling

  * Noise covariance estimation

  * Manual definition of bad channels and bad epochs

 * Data visualization:
  * Various time series displays
  * Data mapping on flat surfaces or the head envelope
  * Generate slides and animations
  * Channel selection, and manipulation of clusters of electrodes
  * 3D surface rendering

 * MRI visualization and coregistration:
  * Analysis on individual anatomy or MNI / Colin27 brain.
  * Import MRI scans, from most of the existing file formats ([[FileFormats|list here]])
  * Co-registration with the MEG/EEG coordinate system
  * Volume rendering (several display modes)
  * Deformation of the MNI template to fit an set of digitized head points

 * Database:
  * Classification of recordings with three levels of definition (protocol, subject, condition/event)
  * Quick access to all the data in a study
  * Quick comparison between subjects or conditions
  * Graphical batching tools (apply a same process to many files in a few clicks)

 * Forward modeling:
  * Single sphere method
  * Overlapping spheres method
 * Inverse modeling:
  * Minimum-norm imaging of the cortical current density
  * dSPM
  * sLORETA

 * Source display and analysis:

  * Surface rendering of the estimated sources

  * Reprojection of the sources in the MRI volume

  * Definition of cortical regions of interest (scouts)

  * Reprojection of estimated sources on a surface with a higher or lower definition

 * Group analysis:
  * Registration of individual brains on the MNI "Colin27" brain
  * Statistical analysis (t-tests, permutations)
 * Documentation and support:
  * Easy and automatic updates of the software
  * Detailed step by step tutorials for most of the common features
  * Active user forum

== What you cannot do with Brainstorm ==
 * Intensive pre-processing of MEG/EEG recordings (noise cancelling, artifact correction/rejection, etc.):<<BR>> => use your constructor's software, or other software solutions (MNE, EEGLab, FieldTrip, etc.). [[Links|See here]].

 * MRI segmentation:<<BR>> => use !FreeSurfer, !BrainSuite or !BrainVisa. [[Links|See here]].

== Requirements ==
Brainstorm is written in Matlab code only, thus it can run on any operating system supported by Matlab (including Windows, Linux, MacOS...).

If you have a Matlab licence:

 * You can download and run directly the Brainstorm source scripts,
 * Minimum Matlab version: 7.1 (= R14-SP3)
 * Minimum Java VM version: 1.5 (To check that: type "ver" at Matlab command prompt)

If you do not have a Matlab licence:

 * You can download the Brainstorm binaries corresponding to your operating system.
 * The executables are build using the Matlab Compiler (mcc)
 * They will install automatically the Matlab Component Runtime (MCR) on your computer, a freely redistributable library