APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. an electrode with a tip no larger than a few micrometers in diameter that can be inserted into a single cell. In the microelectrode technique, used in studies of neurophysiology and disorders of the nervous system, intracellular microelectrodes with tips less than 1 μm in diameter are able to stimulate and record activity within a single neuron (single-cell or single-unit recording). Compare macroelectrode.