Speaker
Description
While biological systems estimate and adapt to fluctuating environments by integrating sensory evidence with internal memory, their information processing is constrained by limited resources. Such limitations introduce intrinsic noise and computational costs, which can fundamentally reshape optimal estimation strategies. Indeed, recent experiments indicate that humans rely on simpler memoryless estimation strategies rather than Bayesian memory-based estimation strategies under some conditions \cite{tavoni2022human}. However, a theoretical framework for characterizing optimal estimation strategies under resource limitations remains lacking. In this presentation, we propose an optimal estimation framework under resource limitations based on optimal control theory \cite{tottori2025theory}. Applying this framework to a minimal model of biological information processing, we find that resource limitations induce phase transitions in optimal estimation strategies, which exhibit discontinuous, nonmonotonic, and scaling behaviors \cite{tottori2025resource,tottori2025theoretical}. Finally, we show that the resource-induced phase transitions predicted by our theoretical framework qualitatively agree with recent human behavioral experiments. These results provide a theoretical foundation for understanding how resource limitations shape information processing in biological systems.
Bibliography
@article{tavoni2022human,
title={Human inference reflects a normative balance of complexity and accuracy},
author={Tavoni, Gaia and Doi, Takahiro and Pizzica, Chris and Balasubramanian, Vijay and Gold, Joshua I},
journal={Nature human behaviour},
volume={6},
number={8},
pages={1153--1168},
year={2022},
publisher={Nature Publishing Group UK London}
}
@article{tottori2025theory,
title={Theory for optimal estimation and control under resource limitations and its applications to biological information processing and decision-making},
author={Tottori, Takehiro and Kobayashi, Tetsuya J},
journal={Physical Review Research},
volume={7},
number={4},
pages={043048},
year={2025},
publisher={APS}
}
@article{tottori2025resource,
title={Resource limitations induce phase transitions in biological information processing},
author={Tottori, Takehiro and Kobayashi, Tetsuya J},
journal={Physical Review Research},
volume={7},
number={4},
pages={L042012},
year={2025},
publisher={APS}
}
@article{tottori2025theoretical,
title={Theoretical Analysis of Resource-Induced Phase Transitions in Estimation Strategies},
author={Tottori, Takehiro and Kobayashi, Tetsuya J},
journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.10184},
year={2025}
}
