unitrecording

Unit recording refers to the measurement of electrical activity from individual neurons or neuronal units in living nervous tissue. It is typically contrasted with multiunit recording, which samples activity from several neurons at once, and with broader measures such as local field potentials. The goal is to isolate the firing of single cells to study how particular neurons encode information or participate in networks.

Methods and data collection commonly involve extracellular microelectrodes or tetrodes that detect action potentials, of which each neuron produces a characteristic spike waveform. Advances in technology have yielded high-density silicon probes and chronic implants, enabling long-term recording from many neurons. Intracellular or patch-clamp techniques can provide direct access to a neuron’s membrane potential but are more invasive and often used in controlled preparations. In humans, intracranial microelectrode recordings are used in clinical contexts (for example, epilepsy monitoring) and in research under ethical oversight. After recording, spike sorting algorithms separate spikes attributed to distinct neurons based on waveform shape, timing, and other features.

Applications of unit recording span basic neuroscience and applied fields. Researchers study sensory encoding, motor control, cognition, and learning by examining how individual neurons respond to stimuli or behavioral variables. In brain–machine interfaces, single-unit activity can be decoded to control prosthetic devices or communicate with external systems. Challenges include accurate spike sorting, electrode drift over time, sampling bias toward certain neurons, and the invasive nature of the techniques.

Historical influence includes foundational work in visual and sensorimotor systems, with ongoing development of scalable, high-density recording technologies expanding the scope of single-unit neuroscience.