Spike2

Spike2
Name	Spike2
Developer	CED
Released	1993
Latest release	8.10 (example)
Programming language	C++
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Genre	Data acquisition, signal analysis
License	Proprietary

Spike2 is a commercial data-acquisition and signal-analysis application designed for electrophysiology, neuroscience, physiology, and related laboratory research. It provides tools for recording, visualizing, sorting, and analyzing time-series and event-based data from analog and digital sources. The software integrates with hardware interfaces to capture neural spikes, electromyography, electroencephalography, and behavioral events for experimental workflows.

Overview

Spike2 serves as an integrated environment for acquisition and post hoc analysis, supporting real-time display, triggered recording, and batch processing. It interfaces with acquisition hardware to collect analog and digital signals while offering scripting capabilities and visualization options tailored for electrophysiological datasets. Typical users include research groups at universities, medical centers, and industry laboratories focused on neuroscience, physiology, and pharmacology.

History and Development

The product originated in the early 1990s as an evolution of laboratory data-capture tools aimed at electrophysiology laboratories that previously relied on mixed analog and early digital systems. Development milestones include adoption of multi-channel digitizers, expansion of scripting facilities, and support for USB and PCI hardware interfaces. The user base expanded through collaborations with academic laboratories, commercial hardware vendors, and clinical research groups, leading to iterative releases that added automation, spike-sorting, and extended file-format interoperability.

Architecture and Features

The architecture combines acquisition drivers, a graphical user interface, a scripting engine, and signal-processing modules. Core elements include real-time display windows, cursor and zoom controls, trigger-based recording, and customizable channel scalings. Analysis features encompass template-based spike sorting, waveform averaging, spectral analysis, event correlation, and statistical summaries. Integration with third-party hardware and drivers permits synchronized acquisition from amplifiers, stimulators, and behavioral monitoring devices.

File Formats and Data Handling

Data are stored in a proprietary binary format optimized for time-stamped analog waveforms, event markers, and metadata describing channels and sampling parameters. The format supports segmented recordings, continuous streams, and annotations for stimuli and experimental conditions. Import/export utilities and scripting APIs enable conversion to and from common interchange formats used in neuroscience and physiology laboratories, facilitating downstream processing in external environments and collaboration across research groups.

Applications and Use Cases

Common applications include single-unit and multi-unit neural recording, electroencephalography, electromyography, intracellular recordings, and behavioral event logging during pharmacology and physiology experiments. Laboratories use the tool for spike detection and sorting, peri-stimulus time histogram construction, cross-correlation analyses, and spectral estimation. The software is also employed in preclinical studies, neural prosthetics research, and comparative physiology where synchronized acquisition and precise timing are critical.

Licensing and Distribution

The software is distributed under a proprietary license model, typically sold with hardware bundles or as a standalone package with optional maintenance and support contracts. Licensing terms often include per-seat or per-lab agreements and may encompass software updates, technical support, and driver bundles for compatible acquisition hardware. Academic institutions frequently obtain campus or site licenses, while commercial users procure enterprise agreements or developer licenses for integration and automation.

Category:Data acquisition software Category:Neuroscience software Category:Electrophysiology