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Brain technology

Neurons recorded en masse

Nature volume 551, pages 172–173 (2017)Cite this article

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A silicon probe that is inserted into the mouse brain can precisely measure the activity of about 200 individual neurons simultaneously. This tool should improve our ability to study functional neuronal circuitry. See Letter p.232

Countless videos depict neurons communicating with one another, flashing on and off as they signal to their neighbours. But these videos are a fantasy, constructed to illustrate how we think that the brain might work. Real videos of neuronal populations at work in live brains lack either the spatial resolution or the temporal precision to infer functional interactions. On page 232, Jun et al.1 describe a silicon probe called Neuropixels, which can simultaneously record the activity of more than 200 individual neurons. This technology promises to have a major impact on neuroscience.

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Figure 1: Probing brain activity with Neuropixels.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, 92037, California, USA

    Edward M. Callaway & Anupam K. Garg

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  1. Edward M. Callaway
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  2. Anupam K. Garg
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Correspondence to Edward M. Callaway or Anupam K. Garg.

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Callaway, E., Garg, A. Neurons recorded en masse. Nature 551, 172–173 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/551172a

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