# Silences, Spikes and Bursts: Three-Part Knot of the Neural Code

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.07206 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.07206/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 14 Feb 2023.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Large Language Models with At Most One Spike per Neuron](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.05151/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

When a neuron breaks silence, it can emit action potentials in a number of patterns. Some responses are so sudden and intense that electrophysiologists felt the need to single them out, labeling action potentials emitted at a particularly high frequency with a metonym -- bursts. Is there more to bursts than a figure of speech? After all, sudden bouts of high-frequency firing are expected to occur whenever inputs surge. The burst coding hypothesis advances that the neural code has three syllables: silences, spikes and bursts. We review evidence supporting this ternary code in terms of devoted mechanisms for burst generation, synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity. We also review the learning and attention theories for which such a triad is beneficial.