This comment highlights a new study by Ribeiro et al.1 which investigates how single-neuron spikes influence the surrounding cortical network in vivo. By comparing induced and background spikes through the lenses of decodability, sensitivity, and criticality, this work highlights how local perturbations interact with ongoing network dynamics to reveal multi-faceted signatures of critical neural computation.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by RIKEN Center for Brain Science (T.T.), JST CREST program JPMJCR23N2 (T.T.), and the Special Postdoctoral Research program at RIKEN (M.F.).
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All authors contributed equally to conceptualization, writing, and editing. M.F. produced Fig. 1 with input from T.T.
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Farrell, M., Toyoizumi, T. Decodability, sensitivity, and criticality measured through single-neuron perturbations. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69121-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69121-9
