Spike Sorting: The First Step in Decoding the Brain: The first step in decoding the brain

摘要

Extracellular recording, the technique of inserting an electrode into the extracellular tissue of the brain to record the activity of individual neurons (“single-unit activity”), is a common experimental method used by neuroscientists to study how the brain works. In recent years, researchers have also demonstrated its potential use in medical technologies for the treatment of disorders such as paralysis, epilepsy, and memory loss. Although most of these applications require single-unit activity, these electrodes record the activity from multiple neurons surrounding the electrode. Spike sorting is the process of separating this signal into single-unit activity. A number of algorithms for this purpose have been published over the years, but there is still no universally accepted solution. In this article, we will present an overview of the spike-sorting problem, its current solutions, and the challenges that remain. Because of the increasing demand for chronically implanted spike-sorting hardware, we will also discuss implementation considerations.