Spike triggered average

Spike-triggered average (STA) is a way to characterize connections between two neurons with single unit recording. The membrane potentials of a cell and its putative presynaptic partner are recorded through time, and the dynamics of the membrane right after the presynaptic spike is averaged across many different trials. If there is a connection between the pre-and-post-synaptic cells, the averaged dynamics will show a small correlative increase in membrane potential, most likely indicative of an EPSP.