Energy-efficiency computing of up and down transitions in a neural network.

ABSTRACT

Spontaneous periodic up and down transitions of membrane potentials are considered to be a significant spontaneous activity of slow-wave sleep. Previous theoretical studies have shown that stimulation frequency and the dynamics of intrinsic currents have a major influence on synchronicity and firing rate of spontaneous fluctuation. Energy consumption is driven by internal spontaneous activity. However, its energy consumption and energy efficiency are not clear. Therefore, this article simulates the up and down transitions based on a neural network and discusses the energy consumption and energy efficiency. It is found that the dynamics of intrinsic currents have a great impact on the energy consumption and energy efficiency in the process. The energy consumption is influenced by the size of the period and the average power consumption of the state. The average power consumption by the up state is always greater than the consumption by the down state, and the energy consumption of the transition is more than firing. In addition, the lower average proportion of duration of the up state in the cycle leads to higher energy efficiency. Energy consumption is reduced and energy efficiency is enhanced by adjusting parameters of the network. The study helps us to understand and further explore the metabolic consumption of spontaneous activities.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We use a more biological neural network to explore energy consumption and energy efficiency of up and down transitions. Specifically, we find that average energy consumption is more than that caused by action potentials, which proves that metabolic consumption is acquired substantially in the resting state as well. We also find that energy efficiency is influenced by the proportion of duration of the up state in the cycle. These findings may further improve the economy of the nervous system.