Research

We are interested in improving upon the Neuropixels recording system, from its implantation to data analysis.

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Current Projects

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Development of Small High-Capacity Probes

Our lab has been funded to develop multiple generations of Neuropixels probes. We are now in the final stage of testing Neuropixels NXT (to be Neuropixels 3.0 on commercial release). This is a 4-shank, 1536-channel recording probe designed for rodents. A single-shank version will eventually be released. A poster shown at the August NIH BRAIN meeting tells details of the probe and example data (see here).  A program to gift probes and recording systems is now underway (Q3 2026). See details at neuropixelscentral.org

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Robotic Implantation of Probes

We are creating custom fixtures and improving robotic-assisted surgery to reliably implant high shank counts.

 

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One thread involves generating mappings between individual MRI and CT rodent data and the corresponding rodent atlas to support implantation.

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Data Analysis of Large Neural Data

Data science/software data analysis to digest and optimize information from these previously unavailable, very large neural datasets.

Our initial experiments with Neuropixels NXT have created electrophysiology datasets with 6000+ recording channels in freely behaving tethered mice, exceeding 80 hours and totaling tens of Terabytes. Extraction of information presents a completely new opportunity and challenge for “brain-wide” data digestion. We are pursuing multiple avenues to both exploit this large recording capacity and develop new modeling approaches to extract multi-brain region interaction networks. 

We are also developing extensions to improve neural clustering algorithms, e.g., Kilosort. This extension addresses common pitfalls of existing algorithms, such as drift, splitting of neural signals, and burst detection. Among our core interests is reliably tracking neuron activity across multiple recordings. Understanding how brain networks develop and evolve through learning, disease, and drug exposure requires these tracking capabilities.