… A study introduces innovative ways to test whether neural population activity exhibits
structure above and beyond that of its basic components. … Is it the hallmark of a population-level
mechanism that reveals the circuit's true function, or is it merely an expected byproduct of
things we already knew about neurons contained in the population? To put it bluntly: when
are findings of population-level structure 'new science' and when are they merely old
knowledge dressed up in new clothes? In this month's issue of Nature Neuroscience …