The neurons of fleshers (e.g. colonials, humanoid cylons) have many internal components and chemical compounds that do not exist in normal human nerve cells or anywhere else in nature for that matter.

The unique properties of these components causes clusters of the neurons to generate electrical signals that are digital in nature. This means that the consciousness that emerges from flesher/cylon brains is based totally upon digital information transfer rather than electrochemical interactions like the natural human brain. This in turn means that flesher/cylon consciousness is fundamentally an advanced artificial intelligence software program encased in what is essentially an organic computer system (i.e. highly advanced computing platforms). That's why their consciousness can interface with a ship's computer and can even be trasmitted like a computer program...because it IS a computer program.