Spikes can transmit neurons' subthreshold membrane potentials

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.