304 Information Storage and Neural Control 



another response, or no response, or make the same output to a 

 different input. 



7) Memory. This subsystem stores information over time. 



8) Decider. A given set of inputs may ehcit two or more 

 alternate outputs. The decider selects the one that is put into 

 action. Each of the subsystems of a system is also a system at its 

 own level and must make its own decisions, as well as carry out 

 other critical functions. The neuron has the binary decision to 

 fire or not to fire, which is based upon the strength and charac- 

 teristics of its inputs and the present state of the neuron. The 

 individual has a central decision-making subsystem which deter- 

 mines output for the whole system. 



9) Encoder. This prepares information for output by putting 

 it into a code which can be transmitted to and interpreted by 

 other systems in the environment. 



10) Motor or Output Transducer. The motor in an animal 

 is the same for both energy and information outputs. Nervous 

 impulses trigger activities like gross physical movements, speech, 

 ingestion, or excretion. 



11) Reproducer. This is capable of giving rise to other systems 

 similar to the one in which it is found. We consider it an infor- 

 mation processing subsystem because its primary activity is 

 transmission of information or patterning. The reproducer, while 

 not essential for the survival of the individual, is necessary for 

 the continuation of the species and all social organizations which 

 endure for more than one generation. 



Each of these subsystem functions is carried out within the 

 individual, but as we have seen in this symposium, it is not possible 

 at present to show the precise localization of all of them. The 

 specific neural arrangements for decoding, learning, memory, 

 perception, deciding, and encoding, for example, are all being 

 studied but are not yet understood. 



We have emphasized the use of standard centimeter-gram- 

 second or information theory units, or units which are derivatives 

 of these, rather than the welter of unrelated measures which 

 have been used in the different fields of behavioral science. Since 

 we are looking for cross-level measurable uniformities or dif- 



