Overview
Neuropixels are high-density silicon probes manufactured by IMEC. For information on how to order them, please visit neuropixels.org.
Currently, Neuropixels probes come in two varieties, "Phase 3a" and "Neuropixels 1.0." The following table compares these two types of probes.
Phase 3a | Neuropixels 1.0 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manufactured between | 2016-2018 | 2018-present | ||
Sold to | Neuropixels consortium | General public (via lottery system) | ||
Site layout | checkerboard | checkerboard or linear | ||
Shank length | 5 mm (options 1 & 2); 10 mm (options 3 & 4) | 10 mm | ||
Site count | 384-960 | 960 | ||
References | 1 external, 10-30 internal | 1 external, 1 tip, 3 internal | ||
Cable | Dual coax (white) | Single twisted pair (black and yellow) | ||
Acquisition system | Ethernet (based on KC705 eval board) | PXIe | ||
Max probes per computer | 3 | 16 | ||
Compatible software | SpikeGLX, Open Ephys GUI | SpikeGLX, Open Ephys GUI | ||
Open Ephys plugin | Neuropix-3a | Neuropix-PXI |
Combining Neuropixels with the Open Ephys GUI
The Neuropixels-specific version of the Open Ephys GUI can be downloaded from https://github.com/open-ephys-GUI-binaries/open-ephys/tree/neuropix.
You can download all the necessary files as a ZIP archive, using the “Download ZIP” button in the upper right. Alternatively, you can use the GitHub Desktop Client found at https://desktop.github.com to save a copy of the repository to your machine. Make sure the “neuropix” branch is active before you do so. Any future software updates can be downloaded by pressing the “Sync” button inside the Desktop Client.
Either way, we recommend creating a separate copy of the GUI for running experiments, which will give you a chance to test out any new features before using them to collect real data.
Inside the directory (called “open-ephys” or “open-ephys-neuropix” if you downloaded the ZIP file), you can run the application by launching open-ephys.exe. The executable must remain in this directory in order to access the associated DLL files, but you can create a link that resides elsewhere.
Note: If the GUI won't start because of missing DLLs, you'll need to install the Visual Studio 2013 Visual C++ Redistributable Package.
Once you launch Open Ephys, you can connect to your probe(s) by dragging and dropping the appropriate plugin onto the signal chain. If you're using the "Neuropixels 1.0" probes with a PXIe data acquisition system, use the Neuropix-PXI plugin. If you're using "Neuropixels 3a" probes, use the Neuropix-3a plugin.
For more information on how to use the Open Ephys GUI, please check out this tutorial.