diff --git a/elephant/gpfa/gpfa.py b/elephant/gpfa/gpfa.py
index 85681172d..c9e28f076 100644
--- a/elephant/gpfa/gpfa.py
+++ b/elephant/gpfa/gpfa.py
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ def binsize(self):
         warnings.warn("'binsize' is deprecated; use 'bin_size'")
         return self.bin_size
 
-    def fit(self, spiketrains):
+    def fit(self, spiketrains, seqs_train=None):
         """
         Fit the model with the given training data.
 
@@ -287,6 +287,15 @@ def fit(self, spiketrains):
             `spiketrains[k][n]` refer to spike trains of the same neuron
             for any choices of `l`, `k`, and `n`.
 
+        seqs_train: np.recarray
+            Alternatively, pass a pre-processed seqs_train array.
+            This is a training data structure, whose n-th element (corresponding to
+            the n-th experimental trial) has fields
+            T : int
+                number of bins
+            y : (#units, T) np.ndarray
+                neural data
+
         Returns
         -------
         self : object
@@ -301,8 +310,17 @@ def fit(self, spiketrains):
 
             If covariance matrix of input spike data is rank deficient.
         """
-        self._check_training_data(spiketrains)
-        seqs_train = self._format_training_data(spiketrains)
+
+        if seqs_train is not None and spiketrains is not None:
+            raise ValueError('Cannot provide both spiketrains and seqs_train!')
+        elif spiketrains is not None:
+            self._check_training_data(spiketrains)
+            seqs_train = self._format_training_data(spiketrains)
+        elif seqs_train is not None:
+            seqs_train = self._format_training_data_seqs(seqs_train) # TODO: write this!
+        else:
+            raise ValueError('Must supply either spiketrains or seqs_train!')
+
         # Check if training data covariance is full rank
         y_all = np.hstack(seqs_train['y'])
         y_dim = y_all.shape[0]
@@ -351,7 +369,14 @@ def _format_training_data(self, spiketrains):
             seq['y'] = seq['y'][self.has_spikes_bool, :]
         return seqs
 
-    def transform(self, spiketrains, returned_data=['latent_variable_orth']):
+    def _format_training_data_seqs(self, seqs):
+        # Remove inactive units based on training set
+        self.has_spikes_bool = np.hstack(seqs['y']).any(axis=1)
+        for seq in seqs:
+            seq['y'] = seq['y'][self.has_spikes_bool, :]
+        return seqs
+
+    def transform(self, spiketrains, seqs=None, returned_data=['latent_variable_orth']):
         """
         Obtain trajectories of neural activity in a low-dimensional latent
         variable space by inferring the posterior mean of the obtained GPFA
@@ -424,14 +449,21 @@ def transform(self, spiketrains, returned_data=['latent_variable_orth']):
             If `returned_data` contains keys different from the ones in
             `self.valid_data_names`.
         """
-        if len(spiketrains[0]) != len(self.has_spikes_bool):
-            raise ValueError("'spiketrains' must contain the same number of "
-                             "neurons as the training spiketrain data")
+        
         invalid_keys = set(returned_data).difference(self.valid_data_names)
         if len(invalid_keys) > 0:
             raise ValueError("'returned_data' can only have the following "
-                             "entries: {}".format(self.valid_data_names))
-        seqs = gpfa_util.get_seqs(spiketrains, self.bin_size)
+                                "entries: {}".format(self.valid_data_names))
+
+        if spiketrains is not None:
+            if len(spiketrains[0]) != len(self.has_spikes_bool):
+                raise ValueError("'spiketrains' must contain the same number of "
+                                "neurons as the training spiketrain data")
+            seqs = gpfa_util.get_seqs(spiketrains, self.bin_size)
+        elif seqs is not None:
+            # check some stuff
+            pass
+
         for seq in seqs:
             seq['y'] = seq['y'][self.has_spikes_bool, :]
         seqs, ll = gpfa_core.exact_inference_with_ll(seqs,