New technology combines recording and control of brain activity in single device
Researchers have developed a new technology capable of simultaneously recording and manipulating neuronal activity deep within the brain, offering what the scientists describes as an important advance for neuroscience research.
The Neuropixels Opto device was co-developed by researchers at University College London and the Allen Institute and is described in Nature Methods.
Their technology combines electrophysiology, used to record electrical activity in living cells, with optogenetics, which employs light to control genetically modified cells. While both approaches are widely used in neuroscience, integrating them into a single platform has proved technically challenging, particularly in deep brain regions.
Neuropixels Opto addresses this challenge by incorporating both functions into an ultra-thin silicon probe narrower than a human hair.
The probe contains hundreds of recording sites alongside microscopic light emitters, allowing researchers to monitor electrical activity from large numbers of neurons while selectively activating or silencing specific cells using light.
Professor Matteo Carandini of UCL’s Institute of Ophthalmology said understanding brain function requires tools capable of both observing and influencing neuronal activity.
“Until now, scientists have typically relied on separate approaches: electrophysiological probes to record neural activity, and optogenetics to control it,” he said.
“Neuropixels Opto overcomes these limitations by integrating both capabilities into a single device, enabling simultaneous measurement and manipulation of neural circuits.”
The system was tested in mice and forms part of a wider £15 million programme investigating Neuropixels technology, supported by the Wellcome Trust, the Allen Institute and other partners.
Researchers say the ability to record and manipulate neurons within the same experiment could help reveal causal relationships between neuronal activity and behaviour.
Dr Karolina Socha, a research fellow at UCL, has already begun using the technology to study the cerebral cortex. Early experiments suggest neuronal activity may be more localised than previously thought.
“We were surprised to discover that the activity of neurons in the cortex can be remarkably localised,” she said.
The researchers believe the technology could help answer longstanding questions about how information is processed within the brain and how neural circuits contribute to perception, learning and decision-making.
The work may also have implications for understanding neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia, which are associated with disrupted neuronal communication.
Pic: Maxim Berg
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