Functional diversity among sensory neurons from efficient coding principles

Julijana Gjorgjieva, Markus Meister, Haim Sompolinsky

Abstract: Author summary The brain processes external stimuli through special receptor cells and associated sensory circuits. In many sensory systems the population of neurons splits into ON and OFF cells, namely cells that signal an increase vs. a decrease of the sensory variable. This happens in brains from worm to man, and in the sensing of temperature, odor, light, and sound. Here we analyze the possible benefits of “pathway splitting” using information theory. We derive the most efficient split of a pathway into ON and OFF neurons and predict the response range of each neuron type as a function of noise and stimulus statistics. Our theory offers insight into this ubiquitous phenomenon of neural organization and suggests new experiments in diverse sensory systems.