Spikes can transmit neurons' subthreshold membrane potentials

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates theoretically that neurons can transmit subthreshold membrane potential fluctuations through spikes, challenging the common assumption that spikes only convey threshold-crossing events.

Contribution

It provides a mathematical proof showing that subthreshold membrane potentials can be perfectly transmitted via spikes, revealing a new perspective on neural communication.

Findings

Subthreshold fluctuations can be transmitted through spikes

Transmission is a concentration phenomenon in high dimensions

Challenging the view that spikes only encode threshold crossings

Abstract

Neurons primarily communicate through the emission of action potentials, or spikes. To generate a spike, a neuron's membrane potential must cross a defined threshold. Does this spiking mechanism inherently prevent neurons from transmitting their subthreshold membrane potential fluctuations to other neurons? We prove that, in theory, it does not. The subthreshold membrane potential fluctuations of a presynaptic population of spiking neurons can be perfectly transmitted to a downstream population of neurons. Mathematically, this surprising result is an example of concentration phenomenon in high dimensions.