Energy-Efficient Information Transfer by Visual Pathway Synapses.

ABSTRACT: The architecture of computational devices is shaped by their energy consumption. Energetic constraints are used to design silicon-based computers but are poorly understood for neural computation. In the brain, most energy is used to reverse ion influxes generating excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) and action potentials. Thus, EPSCs should be small to minimize energy use, but not so small as to impair information transmission. We quantified information flow through the retinothalamic synapse in the visual pathway in brain slices, with cortical and inhibitory input to the postsynaptic cell blocked. Altering EPSC size with dynamic clamp, we found that a larger-than-normal EPSC increased information flow through the synapse. Thus, the evolutionarily selected EPSC size does not maximize

SUBMITTER: Harris JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4691239 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature