The term spike firing rate refers to the the number of spikes per second generated by individual neurons. In macaque visual cortex, for example, the highest firing rates reach 100 to 300 spikes per second for sustained responses, and can briefly hit 300 to 500 Hz during high-frequency burst firing. Average evoked firing rates: Most visual cortex neurons (such as in area V1 or area V4) show mean stimulus-evoked firing rates between 10 and 100 spikes/s when driven by preferred visual stimuli. Bursting activity: During specialized burst events, instantaneous firing rates can spike up to 500 spikes per second. Background spontaneous rates: Baseline or spontaneous firing rates are usually much lower, often ranging from 0.5 to 10 spikes per second ( Google AI-2026 ). Accessed 2 Sep 2026.