CU Anschutz Announces Study Using Groundbreaking Neuropixels Technology to Unlock New Insights into Parkinson's Disease

The campus is the first site with FDA authorization to use this investigational device during brain surgery to study executive function

AURORA, Colo., Sept. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctors at the University of Colorado Anschutz recently implanted an advanced Neuropixels technology into the brains of three patients with Parkinson's disease. This is the first FDA-approved use of this technology to study the disease's impact on executive function.

The technology was temporarily implanted during deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery while the patients were awake as part of a research study to capture advanced data on brain function.

The study will focus on one of the brain's most mysterious regions – the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Researchers hope it will supply insights into how Parkinson's disrupts executive function in an area essential for critical daily tasks such as planning, problem-solving and multitasking.

"The loss of executive function is one of the most devastating symptoms of neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. However, treating these impairments has been a major challenge because executive function operates within the brain in ways that are not yet fully understood," said the study's principal investigator, Daniel Kramer, MD, assistant professor in the department of neurosurgery at the CU Anschutz School of Medicine . "We currently lack the biomarkers needed to target and improve these functions, which is why this research is so groundbreaking because we're gaining new insights into one of the most complex parts of the brain."

Kramer and his team safely implanted a Neuropixels – a probe that's thinner than a human hair – into the patients' brains during DBS surgery. The patients were then asked to perform executive function tasks before having the technology removed and completing the surgery. The Neuropixels, equipped with 960 electrodes, detects electrical activity in the brain and measures neural activity.

Neuropixels can record hundreds of neurons simultaneously. That means researchers will have significantly more data than ever before about this area of the brain. For example, previous studies on executive function have been able to record one or two individual neurons at a time from this brain region. Neuropixels can capture ten times more information.

By monitoring this neural activity data, researchers will be able to better identify specific patterns or disruptions in brain function that contribute to Parkinson's disease while identifying biomarkers to better treat the symptoms.

"This study is a major step forward for advancing research in Parkinson's disease by capturing data and insights that were once beyond our reach," Kramer said. "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."

CU Anschutz is leading this research and is working with Baylor University and Mass General Brigham to offer this innovative surgery to 15 patients. The surgery has received FDA approval under the Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) program.

The research that will be reported for this study is supported by the National Institutes of Health's Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies^® Initiative or The BRAIN Initiative^® and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health under award number R61DC021924. The content is solely the responsibility of the researchers and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The BRAIN Initiative^® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

About the University of Colorado Anschutz
The University of Colorado Anschutz is a world-class academic medical campus at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes and two nationally ranked independent hospitals  -  UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital   and  Children's Hospital Colorado   – which see more than two m illion adult and pediatric patient visits yearly . Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, CU Anschutz delivers life-changing treatments, patient care and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by $910 million in annual research funding, including $757 million in sponsored awards and $153 million in philanthropic gifts. 

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Contact : Julia, CU Anschutz, 303-725-0733, [email protected]

SOURCE University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus