Neuropixels

{{short description|Electrodes to record the activity of hundreds of neurons in the brain}}

Neuropixels probes (or "Neuropixels") are electrodes developed in 2017 to record the activity of hundreds of neurons in the brain. The probes are based on CMOS technology and have 1,000 recording sites arranged in two rows on a thin, 1-cm long shank.{{Cite web|title=How to make sense of the brain's billions of neurons {{!}} Wellcome|url=https://wellcome.ac.uk/news/how-make-sense-brains-billions-neurons|access-date=2020-08-25|website=wellcome.ac.uk|date=31 October 2018 }}{{Cite news |title=A new nerve-cell monitor will help those studying brains |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2017/11/09/a-new-nerve-cell-monitor-will-help-those-studying-brains |access-date=2022-11-01 |issn=0013-0613}}

The probes are used in hundreds of neuroscience laboratories including the International Brain Laboratory, to record brain activity mostly in mice and rats. By revealing the activity of vast numbers of neurons, Neuropixels probes are allowing new approaches{{Cite news|last=Hernandez|first=Daniela|date=2018-06-15|title=The Quest to Decode the Brain|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-sharper-read-on-brain-activity-1529088948|access-date=2020-08-25|issn=0099-9660}} to the study of brain processes such as sensory processing, decision making,{{Cite journal|last1=Steinmetz|first1=Nicholas A.|last2=Zatka-Haas|first2=Peter|last3=Carandini|first3=Matteo|last4=Harris|first4=Kenneth D.|date=December 2019|title=Distributed coding of choice, action and engagement across the mouse brain|url= |journal=Nature|language=en|volume=576|issue=7786|pages=266–273|doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1787-x|issn=1476-4687|pmc=6913580|pmid=31776518}} internal state,{{Cite journal|last1=Allen|first1=William E.|last2=Chen|first2=Michael Z.|last3=Pichamoorthy|first3=Nandini|last4=Tien|first4=Rebecca H.|last5=Pachitariu|first5=Marius|last6=Luo|first6=Liqun|last7=Deisseroth|first7=Karl|date=2019-04-19|title=Thirst regulates motivated behavior through modulation of brainwide neural population dynamics|url= |journal=Science|language=en|volume=364|issue=6437|page=253|doi=10.1126/science.aav3932|issn=0036-8075|pmid=30948440|pmc=6711472|bibcode=2019Sci...364..253A}} and emotions{{Cite journal|last=Abbott|first=Alison|date=2020-08-11|title=Inside the mind of an animal|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=584|issue=7820|pages=182–185|doi=10.1038/d41586-020-02337-x|pmid=32782378|bibcode=2020Natur.584..182A|doi-access=free}} and to create brain-machine interfaces.{{Cite news|title=How brains and machines can be made to work together|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2018/01/04/how-brains-and-machines-can-be-made-to-work-together|access-date=2020-08-25|issn=0013-0613}}{{Cite news|last=Markoff|first=John|date=2019-07-16|title=Elon Musk's Neuralink Wants 'Sewing Machine-Like' Robots to Wire Brains to the Internet|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/technology/neuralink-elon-musk.html|access-date=2020-08-25|issn=0362-4331}}

The probes were announced in 2017.{{Cite journal|last1=Jun|first1=James J.|last2=Steinmetz|first2=Nicholas A.|last3=Siegle|first3=Joshua H.|last4=Denman|first4=Daniel J.|last5=Bauza|first5=Marius|last6=Barbarits|first6=Brian|last7=Lee|first7=Albert K.|last8=Anastassiou|first8=Costas A.|last9=Andrei|first9=Alexandru|last10=Aydın|first10=Çağatay|last11=Barbic|first11=Mladen|date=2017-11-08|title=Fully Integrated Silicon Probes for High-Density Recording of Neural Activity|journal=Nature|volume=551|issue=7679|pages=232–236|doi=10.1038/nature24636|issn=0028-0836|pmc=5955206|pmid=29120427|bibcode=2017Natur.551..232J}} They are designed and fabricated by imec, an electronics research center in Belgium. In 2022, Neuropixels probes were inserted in human patients.{{Cite journal |last1=Paulk |first1=Angelique C. |last2=Kfir |first2=Yoav |last3=Khanna |first3=Arjun R. |last4=Mustroph |first4=Martina L. |last5=Trautmann |first5=Eric M. |last6=Soper |first6=Dan J. |last7=Stavisky |first7=Sergey D. |last8=Welkenhuysen |first8=Marleen |last9=Dutta |first9=Barundeb |last10=Shenoy |first10=Krishna V. |last11=Hochberg |first11=Leigh R. |last12=Richardson |first12=R. Mark |last13=Williams |first13=Ziv M. |last14=Cash |first14=Sydney S. |date=February 2022 |title=Large-scale neural recordings with single neuron resolution using Neuropixels probes in human cortex |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-021-00997-0 |journal=Nature Neuroscience |language=en |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=252–263 |doi=10.1038/s41593-021-00997-0 |pmid=35102333 |s2cid=246442929 |issn=1546-1726}}