The article from Tech Horizons reports a groundbreaking discovery by researchers at ӰƵ, led by Dominique Durand, revealing a previously unknown form of neural communication that could transform our understanding of how the brain works.
For decades, neuroscientists believed neurons communicated only through chemical synapses and electrical gap junctions. However, Durand’s team found that even when both these conventional pathways were blocked, slow rhythmic waves in hippocampal tissue continued to propagate. Remarkably, the waves could even travel across two separated slices of brain tissue—provided they were close enough—suggesting that neurons were interacting without physical contact.
The researchers propose that this communication occurs via self-generated electric fields, a phenomenon known as ephaptic coupling. Though such effects were theorized in the past, this study provides some of the strongest experimental evidence that ephaptic interactions can be organized and functional—not merely incidental.
This discovery implies that neurons can influence each other through weak extracellular electric fields, forming an additional “whisper network” of electrical communication that could underlie brain-wide synchronization seen in EEG rhythms. It may play a role in slow oscillations during deep sleep, memory consolidation, and potentially in consciousness.
While the experiments were performed in vitro, the findings challenge long-standing assumptions about neuronal isolation and signal transmission. Future work will test whether ephaptic coupling operates similarly in intact, living brains and whether it contributes to disorders such as epilepsy or could inspire new neuromodulation therapies.
In essence, Durand’s team has uncovered evidence for a fourth mode of neural communication, suggesting that the brain is not merely a network of wired connections but also an intricate continuum of interacting electric fields—a hidden language of thought that science is only beginning to decode.