Spiking neuron channel | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore

Spiking neuron channel


Abstract:

The information transfer through a single neuron is a fundamental information processing in the brain. This paper studies the information-theoretic capacity of a single n...Show More

Abstract:

The information transfer through a single neuron is a fundamental information processing in the brain. This paper studies the information-theoretic capacity of a single neuron by treating the neuron as a communication channel. Two different models are considered. The temporal coding model of a neuron as a communication channel assumes the output is ¿ where ¿ is a gamma-distributed random variable corresponding to the interspike interval, that is, the time it takes for the neuron to fire once. The rate coding model is similar; the output is the actual rate of firing over a fixed period of time. We prove that for both models, the capacity achieving distribution has only a finite number of probability mass points. This allows us to compute numerically the capacity of a neuron. Our capacity results are in a plausible range based on biological evidence to date.
Date of Conference: 28 June 2009 - 03 July 2009
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 18 August 2009
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Conference Location: Seoul, Korea (South)

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