Voltage fluctuations in neurons: Signal or noise?

Noise and variability are fundamental companions to ion channels and synapses and thus inescapable elements of brain function. The overriding unresolved issue is to what extent noise distorts and limits signaling on one hand and at the same time constitutes a crucial and fundamental enrichment that allows and facilitates complex adaptive behavior in an unpredictable world. Here we review the growing experimental evidence that functional network activity is associated with intense fluctuations in membrane potential and spike timing. We trace origins and consequences of noise and variability. Finally, we discuss noise-free neuronal signaling and detrimental and beneficial forms of noise in large-scale functional neural networks. Evidence that noise and variability in some cases go hand in hand with behavioral variability and increase behavioral choice, richness, and adaptability opens new avenues for future studies.