Self-organized criticality in single neuron excitability

TL;DR

This paper explores how individual neurons operate near a critical transition point, with evidence from experiments and theory indicating self-organized criticality influences neuronal excitability.

Contribution

It introduces a novel perspective linking self-organized criticality to neuron membrane excitability through experimental and theoretical analysis.

Findings

Neurons fluctuate near a critical transition point.

Experimental data supports the criticality hypothesis.

Theoretical models connect criticality with membrane biophysics.

Abstract

We present experimental and theoretical arguments, at the single neuron level, suggesting that neuronal response fluctuations reflect a process that positions the neuron near a transition point that separates excitable and unexcitable phases. This view is supported by the dynamical properties of the system as observed in experiments on isolated cultured cortical neurons, as well as by a theoretical mapping between the constructs of self organized criticality and membrane excitability biophysics.