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The metabolic cost of neural information

Nature Neuroscience 1, 36–41 (1998) | Download Citation

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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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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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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, New Jersey 08540, USA

    • Rob R. de Ruyter van Steveninck

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

    • John C. Anderson

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Correspondence to Simon B. Laughlin.

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https://doi.org/10.1038/236

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