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Cited by 2,883stochastic dynamics and bifurcationNeural dynamics and brain functionNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

Noise in the nervous system

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Faisal, A. Aldo, Selen, Luc P. J., Wolpert, Daniel M.·2008·Nature Reviews Neuroscience
DOI 10.1038/nrn2258PMC PMC2631351
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Abstract

Noise--random disturbances of signals--poses a fundamental problem for information processing and affects all aspects of nervous-system function. However, the nature, amount and impact of noise in the nervous system have only recently been addressed in a quantitative manner. Experimental and computational methods have shown that multiple noise sources contribute to cellular and behavioural trial-to-trial variability. We review the sources of noise in the nervous system, from the molecular to the behavioural level, and show how noise contributes to trial-to-trial variability. We highlight how noise affects neuronal networks and the principles the nervous system applies to counter detrimental effects of noise, and briefly discuss noise's potential benefits.

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  • QuantNoise permits lower-bit precision without large accuracy loss in many vision and language models.

    “This allows lower-bit precision quantization without significant accuracy drop in many computer vision and natural language processing models.”

    From A Survey of Quantization Methods for Efficient Neural Network Inference (2022) · cites this paper as [59]

    The Cellular noise and Conclusion passages discuss noise and performance in biological nervous systems, not QuantNoise or lower-bit model quantization. Searches for QuantNoise, bit precision, quantization, and accuracy in vision and language models found no passage addressing the claim. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Faisal, A. A., Selen, L. P. J., & Wolpert, D. M.
Affiliations
University of Cambridge (GB)
Corresponding author
Faisal, A. Aldo
ORCID
Venue
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2008-04
Volume
9
Issue
4
Pages
292-303
ISSN
  • 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-0048
DOI
10.1038/nrn2258
PMC
PMC2631351
OpenAlex
W2131215403
Cited by
2,883
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 184 · 2025: 228 · 2024: 217 · 2023: 188 · 2022: 195 · 2021: 189 · 2020: 196 · 2019: 178 · 2018: 171 · 2017: 161 · 2016: 149 · 2015: 157 · 2014: 130 · 2013: 141 · 2012: 114
FWCI
4.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nature reviews. Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Cambridge University Engineering Department Publications Database (submittedVersion)
Funders
Wellcome Trust (077730)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Statistical and Nonlinear Physics › stochastic dynamics and bifurcation
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
neural noise, trial-to-trial variability, behavioral variability, noise sources, neuronal networks, noise countermeasures, information processing, molecular noise
MeSH terms
Animals, Humans, Information Theory, Models, Neurological, Nerve Net, Nervous System, Nervous System Physiological Phenomena, Neural Pathways, Noise, Neural Networks, Computer

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