A universal theorem of sensory information
Fuente:
arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866909902482440192 |
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| author | Wong, Willy |
| author_facet | Wong, Willy |
| contents | A universal theorem of sensory information, analogous to the second law of thermodynamics, is derived. Beginning from a minimal description of a sensory neuron, a state-space representation of firing rate emerges naturally from Shannon's measure of information. A special case of this formulation predicts a previously unknown inequality governing sensory adaptation, which was confirmed across different modalities, species, and experimental conditions. Further analysis shows that the firing rate behaves like a state function in thermodynamics, leading to an entropy production equation from which a general law follows: any closed cycle of stimulation yields a non-negative net gain of sensory information. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_11463 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A universal theorem of sensory information Wong, Willy Neurons and Cognition A universal theorem of sensory information, analogous to the second law of thermodynamics, is derived. Beginning from a minimal description of a sensory neuron, a state-space representation of firing rate emerges naturally from Shannon's measure of information. A special case of this formulation predicts a previously unknown inequality governing sensory adaptation, which was confirmed across different modalities, species, and experimental conditions. Further analysis shows that the firing rate behaves like a state function in thermodynamics, leading to an entropy production equation from which a general law follows: any closed cycle of stimulation yields a non-negative net gain of sensory information. |
| title | A universal theorem of sensory information |
| topic | Neurons and Cognition |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.11463 |