spike train
A sequence of action potentials recorded from a single neuron over time, appearing as discrete electrical events.
Full Definition
A spike train represents the temporal pattern of action potentials fired by an individual neuron, recorded as a series of discrete voltage spikes. This fundamental unit of neural communication encodes information through both firing rate and precise timing patterns. Spike trains are analyzed to understand neural coding mechanisms, stimulus responses, and network dynamics. The term is crucial in neurophysiology literature and appears frequently in research papers describing single-cell recordings and computational models.
Usage
Usage note: Avoid confusing with 'spike sorting,' which refers to the computational method of separating individual neuron signals from multi-unit recordings.
In Context
- "The spike train analysis revealed increased firing frequency in response to the visual stimulus." — Research manuscript
- "Irregular spike trains in the patient's recordings suggested abnormal neural activity." — Clinical report