van Daal, R. J. J. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2026

Friend, not Foe: Lowered Tissue Reactivity to Long-Term Polyimide Implants

One of the biggest challenges for neurotechnology is the design of devices that are tolerated well by brain tissue, without sacrificing functionality and implantability. This study examined which design choices mitigate tissue damage and improve longevity, by varying probe features implanted in the cerebral cortex of mice. We report on a systematic, quantitative analysis of neuronal and inflammation markers across cortical depth. We implanted a total of 103 stiff silicon or flexible polyimide probes in 32 mice, varying their thicknesses and widths, which were either attached to the skull or not. A new, automated workflow to quantify immunohistochemical data examines: 1) the tissue loss caused by the implant, 2) the cortical neuronal density, and 3) the immune response expressed by astrocytic and microglial reaction. Flexible polyimide probes exhibited a clear advantage, with fewer lesions and weaker immune responses than stiff silicon probes. Furthermore, we observed a weaker influence of the shank cross-section. A cortical depth profile of immune reactivity revealed focal reactions at the device entry points in the superficial cortex and at the cortex-white matter boundary. This study gives important insights on optimizing device design parameters as well as surgical insights for improved tissue integration of intracortical electrode arrays.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2020

Neuropixels 2.0: A miniaturized high-density probe for stable, long-term brain recordings

To study the dynamics of neural processing across timescales, we require the ability to follow the spiking of thousands of individually separable neurons over weeks and months, during unrestrained behavior. To address this need, we introduce the Neuropixels 2.0 probe together with novel analysis algorithms. The new probe has over 5,000 sites and is miniaturized such that two probes plus a headstage, recording 768 sites at once, weigh just over 1 g, suitable for implanting chronically in small mammals. Recordings with high quality signals persisting for at least two months were reliably obtained in two species and six different labs. Improved site density and arrangement combined with new data processing methods enable automatic post-hoc stabilization of data despite brain movements during behavior and across days, allowing recording from the same neurons in the mouse visual cortex for over 2 months. Additionally, an optional configuration allows for recording from multiple sites per available channel, with a penalty to signal-to-noise ratio. These probes and algorithms enable stable recordings from >10,000 sites during free behavior in small animals such as mice.

neuroscience↗