So from that starting point, if we wanted to be really simplistic about the whole thing, we could estimate a firing rate.
I'd like to be able to provide a single number, but in reality, the brain is pretty complex, so it's difficult to come up with a single number to describe the firing rate of the entire brain.įirst, I'm going to simplify the question by looking at neuronal firing rates, rather than synaptic firing rates. What is the synaptic firing rate of the human brain? I then totally ignore that complexity in order to produce two firing rate ranges: neuronal and synaptic.ĭo you have an additional mathematical solution to Joseph's question? A philosophical objection to the idea of quantifying the human brain in terms of synaptic firing rates? The comments section is where it usually is. In my response, I break down the neural complexity that makes answering Joseph's question extremely difficult. Joseph, having spent some time trawling the net and his library, found himself with no answer to the question, 'How many synaptic fires are there (in a human brain) per second?'Īn edited version of my response to the question appears below. A couple of days ago, we received an email from a high school student named Joseph.
