[mattkrause]

A bit different.

The retinal waves consist of action potentials, which the canonical way that neurons communicate with each other. To do this, the cells form a specialized structure called a synapse: the presynaptic cell releases some neurotransmitter into it, which receptors (sensors) on the its post-synaptic partner detect. Here, the idea is that neurons can communicate, albeit less efficiently, without actually forming a synapse.

As an analogy, synaptic transmission is like plugging your phone into a speaker: there’s a direct, explicit connection. This coupling is more like when a speaker picks up some noise from the cell phone’s modem even though they’re not connected.