Best way to learn MATLAB with little CS background

[cogneurodude]

So, I know I will have to learn MATLAB in grad school and be pretty proficient in it to do quantitative neuroimaging analyses.

My question is: what can I do in the couple months before then to obtain a decent background for MATLAB, without having the program yet?

I found an free online MIT open course on linear algebra (which i hear is good to know for matlab) and I've been trying to learn some C++. Will getting a decent understanding in these areas help me learn MATLAB more quickly/easily? I feel like without having direct applications to the software, I can't learn much.

thanks!

 

[caffenta]

You don't really need a CS background for Matlab. Linear algebra is indeed useful.

You can get the student version of Matlab for cheap. I think it comes with a neat book full of examples and tutorials, or at least it used to. If you don't want to spring for that, get Octave and find Matlab tutorials online. Octave is free and can run most Matlab scripts.