High metabolic demand in neural tissues: Information and control theory perspectives on the synergism between rate and stability.
Journal of theoretical biology November 21, 2016 Rodrick Wallace
Evolution has selected for inherently unstable biological systems—such as blood pressure, immune responses, and gene expression—that can react swiftly to changing threats or opportunities, but these systems require strict regulation to avoid fatal consequences. Consciousness similarly demands high rates of metabolic free energy to both operate and regulate its underlying machinery, with the stream of consciousness and its boundaries being continually reconstructed in response to dynamic circumstances. The authors develop necessary conditions models using the Data Rate Theorem, which links control and information theories for inherently unstable systems. The synergy between conscious action and its regulation explains the ten-fold higher metabolic energy consumption in human neural tissue and implies a culturally modulated connection between sleep disorders and certain psychopathologies.