Neurons Unexpectedly Encode Information in the Timing of Their Firing - Quanta Magazine

^{( July 7, 2021; Quanta Magazine )}

Phase precession is a phenomenon where the underlying rhythmic flow of the brain's waves act as a metronome that regulates the timing of neuron firing in such a way that the timing transmits information. This phenomenon has been observed in rats for decades, but has been difficult to measure in humans. It has been measured in several recent works, however, and now a team of researchers observed it in data that was collected from 13 epilepsy patients with medical implants while they navigated a VR simulation. Beyond navigation, other researchers suggest that phase precession may also be used by humans for image processing. Still others suggest that it may help with speed of learning. Finally, this research suggests that studies that don't track the relative timing of neuron firing may be missing an important part of the picture.

For decades, neuroscientists have treated the brain somewhat like a Geiger counter: The rate at which neurons fire is taken as a measure of activity, just as a Geiger counter’s click rate indicates the strength of radiation. But new research suggests the brain may be more like a musical instrument. When you play the piano, how often you hit the keys matters, but the precise timing of the notes is also essential to the melody.

“It’s really important not just how many [neuron activations] occur, but when exactly they occur,” said Joshua Jacobs, a neuroscientist and biomedical engineer at Columbia University who reported new evidence for this claim last month in Cell.

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