Nodes
Cells are the nodes. Neurons, heart pacemaker cells, immune messengers — each can hold voltage and make local decisions without waiting for a master clock.
Links
Synapses and junctions are the links. Some are strong, some weak, some nearly silent until use wakes them. The map is not fixed wiring; it's a living graph.
Traffic
Spikes and voltage events are the traffic. They travel paths that work, hit delays, and sometimes get blocked by recovery time — like congestion with a purpose.
Adaptation
Use changes the graph. Pathways that help get easier to travel; unused ones fade. That's continuity over time — learning, habit, healing — written as network physics.
How Gate, Spike, and Synapse fit
Gate is how a node opens to charge. Spike is how a message travels a link. Synapse is how one node hands the message to the next. The network is those three, scaled up.