Biophysics of Computation: Information Processing in Single Neurons

by Christof Koch

Neural network research often builds on the fiction that neurons are simple linear threshold units, completely neglecting the highly dynamic and complex nature of synapses, dendrites, and voltage-dependent ionic currents. Biophysics of Information Processing in Single Neurons challenges this notion, using richly detailed experimental and theoretical findings from cellular biophysics to explain the repertoire of computational functions available to single neurons. The author shows how individual nerve cells can multiply, integrate, or delay synaptic inputs and how information can be encoded in the voltage across the membrane, in the intracellular calcium concentration, or in the timing of individual spikes.

Key topics covered include the linear cable equation; cable theory as applied to passive dendritic trees and dendritic spines; chemical and electrical synapses and how to treat them from a computational point of view; nonlinear interactions of synaptic input in passive and active dendritic trees; the Hodgkin-Huxley model of action potential generation and propagation; phase space analysis; linking stochastic ionic channels to membrane-dependent currents; calcium and potassium currents and their role in information processing; the role of diffusion, buffering and binding of calcium, and other messenger systems in information processing and storage; short- and long-term models of synaptic plasticity; simplified models of single cells; stochastic aspects of neuronal firing; the nature of the neuronal code; and unconventional models of sub-cellular computation.

Biophysics of Information Processing in Single Neurons serves as an ideal text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in cellular biophysics, computational neuroscience, and neural networks, and will appeal to students and professionals in neuroscience, electrical and computer engineering, and physics.

Genres: Neuroscience, Science, Physics, Biology, Reference, Psychology, Biography

588 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

is an American neuroscientist best known for his work on the neural bases of consciousness. He is the President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. From 1986 until 2013, he was a professor at the California Institute of Technology.

Reviews

[DJ]

highly touted book revealing those coy little neurons to be far more complicated than they let on (in idealized neural net models)

[Craig Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Christof Koch and his work at Allen Institute. That said, I found this a little dense, probably because my brain has decayed. A primer on each chapter would help my reading and enjoyment, perhaps also a compass setting out the learning journey through the topics. It is a deep dive into the structure of the different types of neurons, dendrites and synapses, and it would be good for undergraduates and post-graduates looking into neuroscience as a career.

[Yates Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A key reference for early neuron simulation material, a solid collection of material.