3.10.5 Energy consumption

The passive distributed membrane implies that in its resting state (without operation and communication), a permanent ’leaking current’ flows out from the RC circuit through the parallel resistance R. If we assume (see, for example [24] page 11) R=100MΩ and VM=0.1V, we arrive at Irest=1pA and Prest=109W power consumption per neuron. We arrive at power consumption 100W for the brain’s neurons if all neurons resting without communication. For the 1011 neurons of the brain we arrive at power consumption if all neurons are resting without communication. It is plausible to assume that the working neuron consumes more energy (the synaptic currents are in the nA range, although their fill-out factor is low). ”The audit points out that, rather than the oft-quoted 20 W of glucose available to the human brain, the fraction partitioned to cortical computation is only 0.1W of ATP” [78]. Assuming a leaking current, a must-be consequence of the parallel RC neuronal oscillator, results in more power consumption of about two orders of magnitude than the measured value. The existence of a leaking current is against the experimental evidence and the metabolic efficiency of the biology of evolution.