Optimal Size for Maximal Energy Efficiency in Information Processing of Biological Systems Due to Bistability
ZHANG Chi1, LIU Li-Wei2, WANG Long-Fei3, YUE Yuan3, YU Lian-Chun3,4**
1Cuiying Honors College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 2College of Electrical Engineering, Northwest University for Nationalities, Lanzhou 730070 3Institute of Theoretical Physics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 4Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000
Energy efficiency is closely related to the evolution of biological systems and is important to their information processing. In this work, we calculate the excitation probability of a simple model of a bistable biological unit in response to pulsatile inputs, and its spontaneous excitation rate due to noise perturbation. Then we analytically calculate the mutual information, energy cost, and energy efficiency of an array of these bistable units. We find that the optimal number of units could maximize this array's energy efficiency in encoding pulse inputs, which depends on the fixed energy cost. We conclude that demand for energy efficiency in biological systems may strongly influence the size of these systems under the pressure of natural selection.
(Probability theory, stochastic processes, and statistics)
引用本文:
. [J]. 中国物理快报, 2015, 32(11): 110501-110501.
ZHANG Chi, LIU Li-Wei, WANG Long-Fei, YUE Yuan, YU Lian-Chun. Optimal Size for Maximal Energy Efficiency in Information Processing of Biological Systems Due to Bistability. Chin. Phys. Lett., 2015, 32(11): 110501-110501.
2015, Vol. 32 
