# Spike Recorder

> Education

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/id367151200](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id367151200)

## Overview

- **ID:** `id367151200`
- **Platform:** Apple
- **Type:** Apple app
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Backyard Brains
- **Category:** Education
- **Rating:** 3.40 / 5 (17 ratings)
- **Version:** 3.0.5
- **Last updated:** 2025-01-02
- **First published:** 2010-05-11
- **Size:** 23 MB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-05
- **Store listing:** [Apple App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spike-recorder/id367151200)
- **Website:** [http://backyardbrains.com/](http://backyardbrains.com/)
- **Privacy policy:** [https://backyardbrains.com/about/privacy](https://backyardbrains.com/about/privacy)

## Description

Let’s face it. The brain is complex, but it is extremely fascinating.  To study the brain, you typically have to be a graduate student at a major university. But not any more! Backyard Brains enables everyone to be a neuroscientist! 

Coupled with our SpikerBox you can order at: http://backyardbrains.com this app allows you to view, hear, record and analyze actual neural signals.  Both from individual neurons and muscles.

Backyard Brains provides affordable neuroscience experiment kits for students of all ages to learn (hands-on) about electrophysiology. Now everyone from schoolchildren to grad students and every grade in between can experiment with similar tools used by real neuroscientists worldwide! By following a few simple steps, everyone can experience first-hand how the brain communicates with our senses, memories, hopes, and desires.

Our iOS application includes both long continuous and threshold views, and once you have recorded your data, you can analyze the neural spike trains, measure reaction times, and calculate statistics just like professional neuroscientists!  Do let us know us know about your experiments. 

Note: The application normally picks up input through the the iPhone's built-in microphone. If you want to plug directly into your SpikerBox, or any audio device, you need a custom male-to-male headphone cable (a normal one won't work), available from our website. It has to do with routing and filtering an output channel to an input channel.

## Rankings

- #299,969 — Overall

## Review summary

Users praise Spike Recorder for easy use, strong educational value, and its ability to turn iPads into an oscilloscope, especially when paired with SpikerBox, at an affordable price. However, several drawbacks are noted: reliability glitches that can affect data, compatibility and feature gaps on iOS and other platforms, and missing in-app features like the experiments tab. Overall, it’s a valuable educational tool with notable platform and stability caveats.

### Pros

- Easy to use interface and overall usability (appears across multiple reviews).
- Strong educational value as a teaching tool for neuroscience and lab activities.
- Turns iPad/iPhone into a useful oscilloscope/ lab instrument, enabling hands-on experiments.
- Inexpensive option for classroom use and accessible to younger learners.
- Good integration with the SpikerBox hardware, enhancing classroom demonstrations.

### Cons

- Reliability issues including glitches and occasional data-point loss.
- Platform compatibility and feature gaps on iOS (older/newer iOS versions, headphone-jack considerations, limited functionality) and cross-platform limitations.
- Missing features such as the experiments tab/section within the app, indicating incomplete functionality.

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id367151200)
