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    Neuropixels

    Also known as Neuropixels probe, Neuropixels 1.0, Neuropixels 2.0

    Neuropixels are silicon neural probes made with chip-industry fabrication that put hundreds of recording channels on a single thin shank and digitize signals on the probe.[1][2] They let neuroscientists record hundreds of individual neurons at once across several brain regions in animals, and a variant has recorded more than 200 single neurons at once in human cortex during surgery.[3][4]

    Editor reviewedStrict sourcingUpdated Neuroscience and brain-computer interfacesLife sciences
    Key facts

    What it is

    A Neuropixels probe is a single silicon shank, 10 millimetres long and about 70 by 20 micrometres in cross-section, lined with 960 recording sites. Any 384 of them can be recorded at once.[1] The probe base filters, amplifies and digitizes the signals, so clean digital data leave the probe directly.[2] It is built with the same CMOS processes used for computer chips.[1] The 2.0 version’s shanks and electronics are made as one piece in a 130-nanometre CMOS process, and its designers credit chip fabrication with the jump in the number and density of recording sites.[5] The original paper included authors from imec, the semiconductor research institute in Leuven, Belgium.[6] For how such chips are made, see how chips are made.

    Why it mattered

    Before Neuropixels, extracellular probes recorded only a few dozen neurons per shank, and optical calcium imaging could not reliably resolve individual spikes in time.[1] In the 2017 paper, two probes recorded more than 700 well-isolated single neurons simultaneously from five brain structures in an awake mouse, and the probes worked in freely moving animals.[3]

    How researchers use it

    Because the probes are small and digitize signals on the chip, researchers can record large populations of neurons across several brain structures in freely moving animals, not only in restrained ones.[7][2] That made it practical to study how activity flows between brain regions during behaviour, at single-neuron resolution.[3]

    Two studies show the scale this allows. In 2019 researchers recorded about 30,000 neurons in 42 brain regions of mice doing a visual task. Neurons almost everywhere responded when the mouse began an action, while neurons tracking the animal’s choice were rare.[8] In 2025 the International Brain Laboratory published a public brain-wide map: 621,733 neurons recorded with 699 probes in 139 mice across 12 laboratories, covering 279 brain areas.[9]

    Neuropixels 2.0

    The 2.0 probe, published in 2021, has more than 5,000 sites and is small enough for long-term implants in mice and rats.[10] Denser site layouts plus new software correct for brain movement after the fact, which allowed the same neurons to be followed for more than two months. High-quality long-term recordings were obtained in six laboratories.[10]

    A 2025 variant, Neuropixels 1.0 NHP, extends the design to monkeys and other large brains, with 4,416 recording sites on a 45-millimetre shank and 384 selectable channels.[11]

    In the human brain

    A 2022 study introduced a probe variant and techniques for use during neurosurgery. It recorded more than 200 well-isolated single neurons at once in human cortex.[4] The team characterized eight separable classes of single-neuron waveforms, and noted that challenges remained before a turnkey human recording system.[12] These are short intraoperative recordings for research, not implanted brain-computer interfaces.[4]

    Place in the field

    Neuropixels gave basic neuroscience a way to record activity across many brain regions at single-neuron resolution, complementing wiring maps from projects such as MICrONS.[3][13] Landmark human brain-computer interface studies, such as the 2006 BrainGate cursor study and the 2024 UC Davis speech study, used implanted microelectrode arrays of the Utah array type instead.[14][15] The probes are sold by IMEC.[16]

    Questions readers ask

    How many neurons can a Neuropixels probe record?

    Hundreds per probe in mice and rats; two probes recorded more than 700 single neurons at once from five brain structures in an awake mouse.[3]

    Are Neuropixels used in people?

    In research during brain surgery. A 2022 study recorded more than 200 well-isolated single neurons at once in human cortex using a Neuropixels variant.[4]

    Who makes Neuropixels?

    The probes are sold by IMEC, a research institute whose staff co-authored the Neuropixels 2.0 paper.[16]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      The original Neuropixels silicon probe, described in 2017, has 384 recording channels addressing 960 sites on a single 10-millimetre shank, and was designed because earlier extracellular probes recorded only a few dozen neurons per shank while calcium imaging could not reliably resolve individual spikes. confirmedas of 2017-11-08

    2. [2]

      Neuropixels probes filter, amplify, multiplex and digitize signals on the probe base, so digital data leave the probe directly. confirmedas of 2017-11-08

    3. [3]

      Using two Neuropixels probes, researchers recorded more than 700 well-isolated single neurons simultaneously from five brain structures in an awake mouse. confirmedas of 2017-11-08

    4. [4]

      A 2022 study used a Neuropixels probe variant to record more than 200 well-isolated single neurons at once in human cortex during neurosurgery. confirmedas of 2022-02-01

    5. [5]

      The Neuropixels 2.0 probe's shanks and base electronics are fabricated as one piece in a 130-nanometre CMOS process, and the probe family uses CMOS chip fabrication to increase the number and density of recording sites. confirmedas of 2021-04-16

    6. [6]

      The 2017 Neuropixels paper included authors from imec, the semiconductor research institute in Leuven, Belgium. confirmedas of 2017-11-08

    7. [7]

      The small size and integrated electronics of Neuropixels probes allowed large populations of neurons in several brain structures to be recorded in freely moving animals. confirmedas of 2017-11-08

    8. [8]

      In a 2019 study, Neuropixels probes recorded about 30,000 neurons in 42 brain regions of mice doing a visual task; neurons in nearly all regions responded when the mouse started an action, while choice-related neurons were rare. confirmedas of 2019-11-27

    9. [9]

      In 2025 the International Brain Laboratory published a public brain-wide map of 621,733 neurons recorded with 699 Neuropixels probes in 139 mice across 12 laboratories, covering 279 brain areas. confirmedas of 2025-09-03

    10. [10]

      Neuropixels 2.0, published in 2021, has more than 5,000 sites, is miniaturized for chronic implants in small mammals, and gave high-quality long-term recordings in mice and rats in six laboratories. confirmedas of 2021-04-16

    11. [11]

      A 2025 paper described Neuropixels 1.0 NHP, a probe for monkeys and other large-brained animals with 4,416 recording sites on a 45-millimetre shank, of which 384 channels can be selected at once. confirmedas of 2025-06-23

    12. [12]

      The 2022 human Neuropixels study characterized eight separable classes of single-unit waveforms, and its authors noted challenges remained before a turnkey recording system. confirmedas of 2022-02-01

    13. [13]

      The MICrONS dataset, published in April 2025, pairs calcium imaging of about 75,000 neurons in an awake mouse's visual cortex with an electron microscopy reconstruction of more than 200,000 cells and about half a billion synapses. confirmedas of 2025-04-09

    14. [14]

      In a 2006 Nature study, a man with tetraplegia used a 96-microelectrode array implanted in his primary motor cortex to move a computer cursor, open simulated e-mail and operate a prosthetic hand. confirmedas of 2006-07-13

    15. [15]

      In the UC Davis speech neuroprosthesis study, a 45-year-old man with ALS received four microelectrode arrays with 256 electrodes in his left ventral precentral gyrus. confirmedas of 2024-08-15

    16. [16]

      Neuropixels probes are sold by IMEC, a research institute whose employees co-authored the Neuropixels 2.0 paper. confirmedas of 2021-04-16

    17. [17]

      Improved site layout and new processing methods let Neuropixels 2.0 correct for brain movement and follow the same neurons for more than two months. confirmedas of 2021-04-16

    18. [18]

      A 1997 study described the Utah Intracortical Electrode Array as a recording structure for brain-computer interfaces, recording from small populations of neurons with an average signal-to-noise ratio of 6 to 1. confirmedas of 1997-03-01

    Revision history (2)
    1. Page created.
    2. Refresh: added the 130 nm CMOS fabrication and imec link, brain-wide mouse studies (2019, 2025) and the 2025 primate probe.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "Neuropixels." ContentLora, updated Oct 10, 2026. https://contentlora.com/wiki/neuropixels

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