<p>Are there any approximations of how many bits of information human somatosensory system produces? Especially mechano-receptors as measured in average number of bits per area of skin per second?</p>

<p>I've only been able to find this information for <a href="http://www.shef.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.33834!/file/neuron1.pdf" rel="nofollow">spiders</a></p>

<p>I can't find anything on this topic, please share your knowledge about similar topic, like the above article.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-05T18:06:34.903Z
Have you tried a [forward Scholar search](http://scholar.google.ca/scholar?cites=17951998918305790098&as_sdt=5,33&sciodt=0,33&hl=en) on the article you included? In particular, have you looked at [this article](http://iopscience.iop.org/0295-5075/22/2/013)?
Artem Kaznatcheev
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-09T12:45:52.643Z
I don't really know that bits is a sensible way to think about information processing in nervous systems.  I'd need to he convinced
Keegan Keplinger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-31T10:57:02.953Z
This question is not very amenable to empirical inquiry unless you pick a particular measure of information or complexity you are interested in. Have a look at [this paper](http://stuff.mit.edu:8001/afs/athena/course/other/esd.83/www/notebook/Complexity.PDF) for more information.
Christian Hummeluhr
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-04T18:00:24.083Z
@KeeganKeplinger what units do you measure information content in? Bits are a pretty good all around measure, and information theory is well enough developed to let you convert most statistical measures to information theoretic ones.
Artem Kaznatcheev
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-08T21:39:28.510Z
It would depend on the model and the question being asked and the definition of information and what you hope to get with that definition.
Keegan Keplinger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-08T21:56:41.160Z
[Scholarpedia](http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Entropy#Interpretation_of_Shannon_entropy) discusses when it's appropriate to use bits (for yes/no questions) and the error associated with not doing it.  I work with dynamical systems and presume deterministic mechanisms in my systems, so I think I'd go with [Kolmogorov Entropy](http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Entropy#Kolmogorov-Sinai_entropy).  But the nature of the question would still be an important consideration.  

My tendency is to assume things exist more on a spectrum than binary yes/no, but I'm sure there are simplifying cases.
Keegan Keplinger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-13T01:43:46.277Z
@KeeganKeplinger I think you are misinterpreting the discussion in that scholarpedia article. Bits is just the name of the units used to measure Shannon entropy (which can be defined between any two random variables), sure in the case of a binary variable bits correspond to something very intuitive (i.e. yes/no questions), but the variable need not be binary to be measured in bits. Similarly, you could choose another set of units like nats (i.e. using ln instead of base-2 log in your calculation) and that would be perfectly reasonable (like measuring in meters or feet) but not relate to binary
Artem Kaznatcheev
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-15T14:39:13.460Z
I see. The number of bits is equal to N, the number of binary questions asked to locate a point on a partition.  So you could just keep breaking your continuous variable up into smaller partitions and asking if your point is inside of it and then your resolution is equal to the number of partitions (which represents the number of questions).

But how would this tell you how much information is "being produced"?  The Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy is a direct measurement of information production.  The units are generally entorpy/time, but I think you can conceive them as bits if using partitions.
Keegan Keplinger
<neuroscience><theoretical-neuroscience><sensation>
How much information does the somatosensory system produce?
Qbik
# How much information does the somatosensory system produce?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-03-05)

Are there any approximations of how many bits of information human somatosensory system produces? Especially mechano-receptors as measured in average number of bits per area of skin per second?

I've only been able to find this information for [spiders](http://www.shef.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.33834!/file/neuron1.pdf)

I can't find anything on this topic, please share your knowledge about similar topic, like the above article.

**Tags:** neuroscience, theoretical-neuroscience, sensation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Have you tried a [forward Scholar search](http://scholar.google.ca/scholar?cites=17951998918305790098&as_sdt=5,33&sciodt=0,33&hl=en) on the article you included? In particular, have you looked at [this article](http://iopscience.iop.org/0295-5075/22/2/013)?  
> **username_2**: I don't really know that bits is a sensible way to think about information processing in nervous systems.  I'd need to he convinced  
> **username_3**: This question is not very amenable to empirical inquiry unless you pick a particular measure of information or complexity you are interested in. Have a look at [this paper](http://stuff.mit.edu:8001/afs/athena/course/other/esd.83/www/notebook/Complexity.PDF) for more information.  
> **username_1**: @KeeganKeplinger what units do you measure information content in? Bits are a pretty good all around measure, and information theory is well enough developed to let you convert most statistical measures to information theoretic ones.  
> **username_2**: It would depend on the model and the question being asked and the definition of information and what you hope to get with that definition.  
> **username_2**: [Scholarpedia](http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Entropy#Interpretation_of_Shannon_entropy) discusses when it's appropriate to use bits (for yes/no questions) and the error associated with not doing it.  I work with dynamical systems and presume deterministic mechanisms in my systems, so I think I'd go with [Kolmogorov Entropy](http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Entropy#Kolmogorov-Sinai_entropy).  But the nature of the question would still be an important consideration.    My tendency is to assume things exist more on a spectrum than binary yes/no, but I'm sure there are simplifying cases.  
> **username_1**: @KeeganKeplinger I think you are misinterpreting the discussion in that scholarpedia article. Bits is just the name of the units used to measure Shannon entropy (which can be defined between any two random variables), sure in the case of a binary variable bits correspond to something very intuitive (i.e. yes/no questions), but the variable need not be binary to be measured in bits. Similarly, you could choose another set of units like nats (i.e. using ln instead of base-2 log in your calculation) and that would be perfectly reasonable (like measuring in meters or feet) but not relate to binary  
> **username_2**: I see. The number of bits is equal to N, the number of binary questions asked to locate a point on a partition.  So you could just keep breaking your continuous variable up into smaller partitions and asking if your point is inside of it and then your resolution is equal to the number of partitions (which represents the number of questions).  But how would this tell you how much information is "being produced"?  The Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy is a direct measurement of information production.  The units are generally entorpy/time, but I think you can conceive them as bits if using partitions.  

---

## 0 answers

