Editing Electrophysiology (section)

===Single-unit recording===
{{Main|single-unit recording}}
An electrode introduced into the brain of a living animal will detect electrical activity that is generated by the neurons adjacent to the electrode tip. If the electrode is a microelectrode, with a tip size of about 1 micrometre, the electrode will usually detect the activity of at most one neuron. Recording in this way is in general called "single-unit" recording. The action potentials recorded are very much like the action potentials that are recorded intracellularly, but the signals are very much smaller (typically about 1 mV). Most recordings of the activity of single neurons in anesthetized and conscious animals are made in this way. Recordings of single neurons in living animals have provided important insights into how the brain processes information. For example, [[David Hubel]] and [[Torsten Wiesel]] recorded the activity of single neurons in the primary [[visual cortex]] of the anesthetized cat, and showed how single neurons in this area respond to very specific features of a visual stimulus.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=14449617 |url=http://www.jphysiol.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=14449617 |title=Receptive fields, binocular interaction and functional architecture in the cat's visual cortex |date=1962-01-01 |author1=D. H. Hubel |journal=The Journal of Physiology |volume=160 |issue=1 |pages=106–54 |last2=Wiesel |first2=TN |pmc=1359523 |doi=10.1113/jphysiol.1962.sp006837}}</ref> Hubel and Wiesel were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1981.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1981/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1981|website=nobelprize.org|access-date=5 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223143417/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1981/|archive-date=23 December 2017}}</ref>

To prepare the brain for such electrode insertion, delicate slicing devices like the compresstome vibratome, leica vibratome, microtome are often employed. These instruments aid in obtaining precise, thin brain sections necessary for electrode placement, enabling neuroscientists to target specific brain regions for recording.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc=5856250 | date=2018 | last1=Papouin | first1=T. | last2=Haydon | first2=P. G. | title=Obtaining Acute Brain Slices | journal=Bio-Protocol | volume=8 | issue=2 | pages=e2699 | pmid=29552595 }}</ref>