In a standard ANN, data flows layer by layer in a feedforward, clock-like manner:
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Input → hidden layers → output.
Every neuron updates every step, regardless of whether it’s "important" at that moment.
In a Spiking Neural Network (SNN), it’s event-driven instead:
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Neurons sit idle most of the time.
They only “fire” (emit a spike) when their membrane potential reaches a threshold due to accumulated input.
That spike is an event that gets transmitted to connected neurons.
Those neurons may (or may not) spike in response, depending on their own internal state.