Peristimulus Time Histogram
Chart overview
The peristimulus time histogram (PSTH) averages spike counts across trials in uniform time bins, converting discrete spike trains into a continuous firing-rate estimate.
Key points
- Neuroscientists use it to characterise the temporal profile of a neuron's response to a stimulus.
- It quantifies response latency, peak firing rate, and post-excitatory inhibition in a single compact plot.
Example Visualization
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"Create a peristimulus time histogram (PSTH) from my spike time data. Bin spikes into 10 ms windows, align to stimulus onset at t=0, normalise to spikes per second, shade the baseline period, and format for a journal-quality figure."
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Python Code Example
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
np.random.seed(42)
spikes = np.random.normal(0.2, 0.1, 500)
spikes = spikes[(spikes > -0.2) & (spikes < 0.6)]
plt.figure(figsize=(10, 6))
plt.hist(spikes, bins=30, color='#3b82f6', edgecolor='black', alpha=0.8)
plt.axvline(0, color='red', linestyle='--', linewidth=2, label='Stimulus Onset')
plt.title('Peristimulus Time Histogram (PSTH)', fontsize=14, fontweight='bold', pad=20)
plt.xlabel('Time relative to stimulus (s)', fontsize=12)
plt.ylabel('Spike Count', fontsize=12)
plt.legend()
plt.tight_layout()
plt.savefig('plotivy-peristimulus-time-histogram.png', dpi=150)
print("PSTH generated successfully.")
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Console Output
PSTH generated successfully.
Common Use Cases
- 1Characterising excitatory and inhibitory responses in sensory cortex
- 2Comparing response latency across brain areas or pharmacological conditions
- 3Detecting anticipatory activity before a behavioural cue
- 4Quantifying adaptation and habituation of neural responses
Pro Tips
Choose bin width carefully: too wide blurs temporal precision, too narrow inflates noise
Smooth with a Gaussian kernel after binning to produce a continuous firing-rate estimate
Always show the pre-stimulus baseline period to establish the spontaneous rate
Normalise by trial count and bin width to report firing rate in Hz, not raw counts
Scientific Chart Selection Cheat Sheet
Not sure whether to use a Violin Plot, Box Plot, or Ridge Plot? Download our single-page reference mapping the most-used scientific chart types, exactly when to use them, and the core Matplotlib/Seaborn functions.