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The metabolic cost of neural information

Nature Neuroscience volume 1, pages 36–41 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

We derive experimentally based estimates of the energy used by neural mechanisms to code known quantities of information. Biophysical measurements from cells in the blowfly retina yield estimates of the ATP required to generate graded (analog) electrical signals that transmit known amounts of information. Energy consumption is several orders of magnitude greater than the thermodynamic minimum. It costs 104 ATP molecules to transmit a bit at a chemical synapse, and 106 - 107 ATP for graded signals in an interneuron or a photoreceptor, or for spike coding. Therefore, in noise-limited signaling systems, a weak pathway of low capacity transmits information more economically, which promotes the distribution of information among multiple pathways.

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Figure 1: Cells, synapses and signals in blowfly compound eye.
Figure 2: The electrical models of photoreceptor and LMC membranes.
Figure 3: The cost of a bit of information plotted against information transmission rate for a single chemical synapse, a hypothetical LMC using spikes, and the graded signals of a photoreceptor and an LMC.
Figure 4: The rise in cost per bit with bit rate is illustrated by modeling the transfer of signals from a photoreceptor (PR) to an LMC via a parallel array of ns identical synapses.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank W. Bialek, D. Bray, R. Carpenter, R.C. Hardie, J.H. van Hateren and D.C. O'Carroll for their comments and suggestions, and A. Ames for his encouragement and an excellent introduction to the energetics of neural function.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

    Simon B. Laughlin & John C. Anderson

  2. NEC Research Institute, 4 Independence Way, Princeton, 08540, New Jersey, USA

    Rob R. de Ruyter van Steveninck

  3. Sussex Centre for Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK

    John C. Anderson

Authors
  1. Simon B. Laughlin
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  2. Rob R. de Ruyter van Steveninck
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  3. John C. Anderson
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Correspondence to Simon B. Laughlin.

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Laughlin, S., de Ruyter van Steveninck, R. & Anderson, J. The metabolic cost of neural information. Nat Neurosci 1, 36–41 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/236

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