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SUMMARY:Dr. Energyefficient or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love th
 e Brain! - Nikon Rasumov (University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20100211T130000Z
DTEND:20100211T140000Z
UID:TALK22321@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr James Kirkbride
DESCRIPTION:A rapidly changing environment is one of the main challenges o
 ur brain faces in an every day life. One mechanism to tackle this problem 
 is adaptation: a change in response to a prolonged stimulus. Switching fro
 m rods to cones in bright light is one example of visual adaptation. Many 
 sensory systems are believed to adapt to optimize the information uptake a
 nd transmission\, regardless of the cost of these operations.\nBut the blo
 wfly photoreceptor teaches us a new lesson. To operate in an energy effici
 ent regime\, it abandons 8% of the costly information at low light levels 
 and saves 60% on energy consumption. This remarkable tradeoff is achieved 
 by regulating amplification\, as described by a theoretical model. Thus in
  the process of evolution brains have learned to adapt in a more energy ef
 ficient way. When will we learn that?
LOCATION:Entertaining Room\, Darwin College
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