Single unit activity reflects the behavior of individual neurons. This can be done after inserting many microelectrodes in the brain for simultaneous recording of multiples neurons and then analyze each individual neuron. This is usually done on freely moving animals. Some disadvantages are that not all the microelectrodes will be able to record a neuron as they are in in the appropriate position, and as they minielectrodes are attached to the skull by dental cement, they cannot be moved of position to register new neurons.

In another technique head-restrained animals are used. Here the animals have a head-implant that allows them to be fixed to stereotaxic equipment not by the ears. Once the animal has adapted to being fix, a hole in the skull is made, the duramater is removed and a glass-micropipette with Pontamine skyblue is lowered very slowly by nanometers until a neuron is found. In this technique neurons can always be found, but just one at a time. Further experiments with the same animal can be made. At the end the Pontamine sky blue can be injected into the brain for further histological analysis to know the exact location of the recorded neuron. Some agonists/antagonists can also be injected to test the neuron behavior.

Some disadvantages are that the animal cannot move, it can be have some stress and this could have some influence in the results.  Here single unit recordings were done from head-restrained rats.