Neurophysiological Research Using an On-Line Computer

Thelma Estrin

In 1965 the UCLA Brain Research Institute introduced an on-line Shared Laboratory Interpretive Processor called SLIP. Inspiration for SLIP was derived from the Culler-Fried On-Line System. Today the push of a mouse-button enables access to cyberworld, based on the on-line capabilities following the concepts introduced by Culler and Fried three decades ago. Like their on-line system, SLIP was designed to provide a convenient and rapid means for neuroscientists to interact with a digital computer. Though the goal as well as programming and memory allocation differed, SLIP offered on-line access for neuroscientists who could press a few computer keys to enable them to use sophisticated techniques prepared by expert programmers, as one might "pull down" a list of programs today. In addition SLIP had the extended capability of input-output control which was necessary for the large quantity of data generated by neuroscience experiments.

SLIP provided an on-line console, analog to digital conversion, relay drivers and sense lines. The hardware of SLIP was a keyboard and storage scope which together were referred to as the console. SLIP accepted analog inputs, digitized them and stored them on magnetic tape in a manner allowing symbolic retrieval, or else provided a rapid means of interaction with a medium size computer system, the SDS-930. The arithmetic and control circuits of the computer were used on a priority interrupt basis. Several SLIP consoles time-shared the system simultaneously with the input-output channels which controlled background activity like digital plotting and a-d conversion. The console was composed of a 64-key keyboard, an encoding matrix, holding register, control logic and oscilloscope control circuitry. Control for the computer was via the keyboard in which upper case position (lighted buttons) were operations and lower case positions (unlighted buttons) were operands. The operator keyboard was used to initiate computer subroutines, while the operand keyboard was used to store data in the computer memory or retrieve it. Mainly, SLIP distinguished neuroscientists from neophyte computer users and enabled them to extend their neuroscience expertise with the computer as a tool.

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