Doctors and researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have achieved a groundbreaking milestone by employing advanced Neuropixels technology in the study of Parkinson’s disease. Reported by Pharmabiz.com, this initiative marks the first time in the United States that the FDA has authorized the use of this investigational device to explore how Parkinson’s affects executive function—a set of mental skills essential for everyday activities such as planning, problem-solving, and multitasking.
The research, led by Dr. Daniel Kramer, assistant professor of neurosurgery at CU Anschutz School of Medicine, involved the temporary implantation of Neuropixels probes into the brains of three patients with Parkinson’s disease during deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. The procedures were performed while the patients were awake, enabling them to perform executive function tasks for real-time data collection.
Neuropixels technology represents a leap forward in neuroscience tools. Each probe is thinner than a human hair and packed with 960 electrodes, allowing it to detect and record the electrical activity of hundreds of neurons at once. This is a significant advance compared to earlier methods, which could only capture data from one or two neurons at a time. The massive increase in data resolution enables researchers to observe the brain’s dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—a region critical for executive function—in unprecedented detail.
According to Dr. Kramer, the loss of executive function is one of the most devastating and poorly understood symptoms of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. “We currently lack the biomarkers needed to target and improve these functions, which is why this research is so groundbreaking,” he explained. The hope is that by capturing detailed neural activity data, the team can identify specific patterns of disruption and discover new biomarkers that could be targeted by future therapies.
After the patients completed the executive function tasks, the Neuropixels probes were safely removed, and the DBS surgery concluded. The data collected promises to give researchers a much clearer picture of how Parkinson’s disease disrupts brain function and interferes with daily life.
Dr. Kramer emphasized the broader significance of the study: “By using the latest advancements in neuroscience, we’re now able to access critical information from specific neural populations in areas of the brain that were previously difficult to study. The goal is to eventually use this data to pave the way for new, more effective treatments for Parkinson’s disease.”
This pioneering research positions the University of Colorado Anschutz as a leader in the quest to unravel the complexities of Parkinson’s disease. As the first site in the nation to use Neuropixels technology for this purpose, the campus is setting a new standard for how neurological disorders are studied and, ultimately, treated.
