PSY 368 Lecture 2: Neuroscience/Psychophysics
8 Feb 2019
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A microelectrode is inserted into a neuron; the firing rate of the neuron is recorded. The experimenter notes which types of stimuli make the neuron fire best. Neurons have preferred stimuli, and only respond when these stimuli are in their receptive field. An important tool to understand how the brain analyzes patterns. For example, the neuron in the figure represents or codes for vertical features. Using this technique, researchers have constructed detailed functional maps of pattern analyzers in the brain. Hubel and wiesel received the 1981 nobel prize in physiology and medicine, for their discoveries concerning information processing in the visual system. Experimenter records the activity of a single neuron in response to a stimulus. Enables pattern analyzers to be localized in the brain. The technique can only be used on animals. Limited to only single cells; neural circuits involving multiple cells are harder to study. A visualization of the electrical activity from millions of neurons.
