Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 14: Posters: Neurophysics

BP 14.4: Poster

Monday, March 16, 2015, 17:30–19:30, Poster A

Stochastic thermodynamics of biological information processing — •Sebastian Goldt and Udo Seifert — II. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Stuttgart

We consider the stochastic thermodynamics of neural information processing in the presence of noise. Defining what we mean by noise in this problem is non-trivial, since it inevitably requires the definition of a signal, which is often hard to identify in neural systems. We therefore turn to general information theoretic measures to describe neural information processing, motivated by the fact that neurons in different organisms from fruit flies to primates display strikingly similar values for several of these parameters. This allows us to neglect the precise form of stimulus and response. Our focus is on single neurons, given the strong evidence for the impact of individual neurons on a behavioural level even in complex nervous systems, e.g. in perceptual decisions of primates.

Here we apply recent results in the theory of small systems [1], specifically at the boundary to information theory [2], to gain a better understanding of both the principles underlying the generality of neural properties and the limits that the inherent stochasticity of neural hardware places on computational strategies in the brain.

1. U. Seifert, Rep. Prog. Phys. 75, 126001 (2012).
2. A. C. Barato and U. Seifert, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 090601 (2014).