Devices

A miniaturized silicon probe with more than 5,000 sites for chronic recording in small mammals, with software that corrects for brain movement. Reported in Science, 2021.

Device — Intracortical

Neuropixels 2.0

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Neuropixels · silicon probe · high density · chronic · freely moving · research tool · academic

Neuropixels 2.0

One-line verdict: A smaller, denser successor to the Neuropixels 1.0 probe that is meant to stay in place for weeks and months in mice and rats, with software to follow the same neurons as the brain shifts.

Quick tags: Recording · Intracortical · Species: Mouse, rat · Published: 2021 (Science)

Overview

What it is: The Neuropixels 2.0 probe, with more than 5,000 sites, miniaturized to allow chronic implants in small mammals and recording during unrestrained behavior. It is presented together with new data-processing algorithms.

What was shown: High-quality recordings over long time scales, obtained reliably in mice and rats in six laboratories. Improved site density and arrangement, plus automatic post hoc correction for brain movement, allowed recording from the same neurons for more than 2 months.

Sites versus channels: The paper also describes a strategy for extending the number of recorded sites beyond the number of available recording channels. See the Neuropixels 1.0 page for that probe’s geometry and 3D model.

Spec Card Grid

Identity

  • Lead authors: Nicholas A. Steinmetz, Cagatay Aydin, Anna Lebedeva, Michael Okun, Marius Pachitariu, and a large multi-lab team including Timothy D. Harris
  • Published: Science, 2021 (open copy via PubMed Central)
  • Species: mice and rats

Architecture

  • Sites: more than 5,000
  • Use: acute and long-term experiments, including freely moving animals
  • Software: automatic post hoc stabilization for brain movement

Evidence and limits

  • Shown: same-neuron tracking for more than 2 months, in six labs
  • Not covered here: shank count, site layout and channel numbers, which are in the paper; no 3D model of 2.0 yet
  • Status: research tool; not a human implant

References