Radically different
High-resolution extracellular electrophysiology is typically used to record from neurons in order to understand brain function. Combining electrophysiology with optogenetics allows researchers to test the causal role of specific neurons by activating or inactivating those populations while recording the effects of neural activity.
Now, a new technology, co-developed by UCL scientists, simultaneously records and manipulates neuronal activity deep within the brain. The device, known as Neuropixels Opto and researched in mice, integrates electrophysiology and optogenetics in a single probe, enabling unprecedented insight into how individual neurons in the brain function and interact. By packing around 1,000 closely spaced recording sites onto an ultra-thin probe, it is possible to capture high-resolution signals from individual brain cells while monitoring large neural networks at the same time. The device could transform our understanding of neural circuits and neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.
“This makes it possible, for the first time, to directly test how specific neurons influence the activity of surrounding circuits—revealing causal relationships between neuronal activity and brain function,” notes Matteo Carandini, PhD, a professor at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. “The ability to both record and control neuronal activity in the same experiment represents a significant advance for neuroscience.”
This work is published in Nature Methods in the paper, “Neuropixels Opto: combining high-resolution electrophysiology and optogenetics.” The device, which packs 960 electrical recording sites and two sets of 14 light emitters onto a 70-μm-wide, 1-cm-long shank, allows spatially addressable optogenetic stimulation with blue and red light. The device allows researchers to monitor the electrical activity of hundreds of neurons while also selectively activating or silencing specific cells using light.
“The brain processes information through complex patterns of electrical activity, with billions of neurons communicating via rapid electrical signals,” explains Carandini. “Understanding how these signals give rise to behavior, thought and disease requires tools that can both observe and influence neuronal activity.”
“Until now, scientists have typically relied on separate approaches: electrophysiological probes to record neural activity, and optogenetics to control it,” Carandini adds. “Combining the two has proved challenging, particularly in deeper brain regions, where delivering light without disrupting sensitive recordings is technically difficult. Neuropixels Opto overcomes these limitations by integrating both capabilities into a single device, enabling simultaneous measurement and manipulation of neural circuits.”
Karolina Socha, PhD, research fellow at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, has used the probes to investigate the function of the cerebral cortex. “We were surprised to discover that the activity of neurons in the cortex can be remarkably localized. Up to now, we thought that neurons are so interconnected that there would be no way to activate some of them without activating many others,” she said. “The new Neuropixels Opto probes revealed that these neurons can operate not only in concert but also rather independently.”
The technology may also have important implications for understanding neurological and psychiatric conditions. Many disorders, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease, are associated with disruptions in how neurons communicate. By providing a clearer picture of how neural circuits function in both healthy and diseased states, Neuropixels Opto could support the development of more targeted treatments.
The post Neuropixels Opto Integrates Electrophysiology and Optogenetics to Probe Neuronal Function appeared first on GEN – Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
Sitting in the courtyard of his house in China’s Henan province last October, Dong Hui decided to try holding a pen. Six years after a car accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, he slowly wrote his name, “Thank you,” and the date.
The breakthrough was made possible by a brain implant called NEO. In March, it became the world’s first invasive brain-computer interface approved for use beyond clinical trials. The approval is expected to accelerate China’s push to become a global leader in brain implants.
—You Xiaoying
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Nvidia is launching its first AI chip for personal computers
The RTX Spark will power laptops from Dell, HP, Microsoft, and others. (BBC)
+ They’re being designed specifically to run AI agents. (WSJ $)
+ The first devices are set to launch on Windows PCs in the fall. (CNBC)
+ The move marks a challenge to Apple and Intel. (FT $)
2 The US is stopping exports of AI chips to Chinese firms abroad
It’s closed a loophole allowing exports to Chinese subsidiaries. (Reuters $)
+ Which may have enabled unlicensed access to Nvidia chips. (Al Jazeera)
+ Export curbs have led China to redesign its chip industry. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Surgeons have transplanted pig liver and kidneys into a living person
The clinically dead recipient’s organs worked for almost five days. (Nature)
+ Pig organs could ease transplant shortages. (Guardian)
+ Putin says organ transplants could grant immortality. (MIT Technology Review)
4 The US, Australia, and UK will defend seabed cables with underwater drones
They’re developing the vehicles via the trilateral AUKUS defense pact. (CNN)
+ Undersea internet cables face growing threats. (BBC)
5 A new study has revealed chatbots’ manipulative ‘dark patterns’
It found they prey on emotions to encourage harmful behavior. (404 Media)
+ They can also sway voters better than political ads. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Apple plans to disrupt the traditional glasses market
Its smart glasses target the broader spectacles industry. (Bloomberg $)
+ Smart glasses are also gaining traction in warfare. (MIT Technology Review)
7 AI super PACs are dueling over the midterms
Split between Anthropic and OpenAI, they’re fighting to shape AI regulation. (NYT $)
8 SoftBank has overtaken Toyota as Japan’s most valuable company
The AI boom pushed SoftBank’s market value above $305 billion. (Bloomberg $)
9 A botnet of more than 17 million devices has been dismantled in Europe
Dutch authorities linked the network to a Russian proxy service. (Ars Technica)
10 Tech leaders are uniting around a transhuman vision for AI
They’re working toward a post-human agenda. (Guardian)
Quote of the day
—Legendary environmental activist Erin Brockovich tells “The Jim Acosta Show” why citizens are angry about data centers expanding into their communities.
One More Thing
Rebecca George doesn’t mind the vultures. At Western Carolina University’s body farm, forensic anthropologists monitor donors—sometimes for years—as they become nothing but bones.
Around 20,000 people donate their cadavers to scientific research and education each year. At anatomy labs and body farms, they help train doctors, advance research, and teach scientists more about the human body long after death.
But what actually happens after a body is donated? Read the full story to find out.
—A.W. Ohlheiser
We can still have nice things
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