Boss asks: “When can we have a look at your cortical recordings!?!”
I reply: “When I can separate spikes from wonky sub-cortical stimulation artifacts.”
Boss retorts: “Isn’t there software for that?”
“Yes.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Here’s the problem: Open source spike-sorting routines are not really free.
I’ve spent the past week trying to execute open-source spike-sorting routines I’ve downloaded. The parent routines are indeed free, and would simplify my analysis greatly, however they employ functions of expensive commercial software (i.e. MATLAB signal processing and wavelet toolboxes) in order to run. Unless hundreds are forked out for the underlying subroutines, I’m shit out of luck. Try explaining this to someone who last programmed in 1985.
So I’m starting from scratch. Nothing like re-inventing the wheel.