How to add your own unit filter

This guide shows you how to add an entry to the Filter Plots menu that shows only the units matching your own criterion. The example keeps units firing at more than 5 spikes per second.

How filters work

A filter is a function that takes the clusters.metrics table, one row per unit, and returns a boolean array of the units to keep. Filters are registered by name in ibl_alignment_gui.loaders.plot_loader.CUSTOM_FILTERS, which the Filter Plots menu is built from when a session is loaded.

Steps

  1. Create ibl_alignment_gui/plugins/my_filters.py:

    import numpy as np

from ibl_alignment_gui.loaders import plot_loader
from iblutil.util import Bunch

PLUGIN_NAME = 'My Filters'


def setup(controller):
    """Register the plugin, and the function that adds its filters when data is loaded."""
    controller.plugins[PLUGIN_NAME] = Bunch()
    controller.plugins[PLUGIN_NAME]['activated'] = True
    controller.plugins[PLUGIN_NAME]['load_data'] = add_filters


def add_filters(_):
    """Add the filters to the Filter Plots menu."""
    plot_loader.CUSTOM_FILTERS['High firing rate'] = filter_high_firing_rate


def filter_high_firing_rate(metrics):
    """Keep the units firing at more than 5 spikes per second."""
    return np.asarray(metrics['firing_rate'] > 5)

    Change firing_rate to a column that is in your clusters.metrics file.

  2. Register the plugin in ibl_alignment_gui/plugins/add_plugins.py, as for a plot:

    from ibl_alignment_gui.plugins.my_filters import setup as setup_my_filters

class Plugins:
    def __init__(self, controller):
        ...
        setup_my_filters(controller)

  3. Start the GUI and load a session. High firing rate is in the Filter Plots menu.

If the column is missing, or the function raises an error, a warning is logged and every unit is shown.