The theoretical channel capacity of a single neuron as determined by various coding systems

The information channel capacity of a model neuron with a fixed refractory period δ has been calculated for optimum continuous time interval coding. Two types of noise perturbations have been considered, a Gaussian probability distribution and a rectangular distribution of the time of occurrence of the response to a stimulus. Laboratory measurements indicate a Gaussian distribution with a standard deviation of latency σ, of about 5 μsec gives the best fit to an actual nerve fiber. This results in a maximum information transmission of slightly over 4000 bits per second. The results are compared with the discrete theory of MacKay and McCulloch