Heterogeneous Groups of Neurons Transmit Twice as Much Information as Homogeneous Groups
PITTSBURGH-Much like snowflakes, no two neurons are exactly alike. But it’s not the size or shape that sets one neuron apart from another, it’s the way it responds to incoming stimuli. Carnegie Mellon University researchers have discovered that this diversity is critical to overall brain function and essential in how neurons process complex stimuli and code information. The researchers published their findings, the first to examine the function of neuron diversity, online in Nature Neuroscience.