Dendrites and efficiency: Optimizing performance and resource utilization

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  Dendrites optimize information processing and storage under resource constraints.

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  Compartmentalization in dendrites is a key to enhance computational efficiency.

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  Dendrites facilitate predictive, context-dependent processing in hierarchical networks.

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  Dendritic nonlinearities might have evolved to process natural stimuli on behavioral timescales.

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  Dendrites increase memory capacity and help balance memory binding and interference.

The brain is a highly efficient system that has evolved to optimize performance under limited resources. In this review, we highlight recent theoretical and experimental studies that support the view that dendrites make information processing and storage in the brain more efficient. This is achieved through the dynamic modulation of integration versus segregation of inputs and activity within a neuron. We argue that under conditions of limited energy and space, dendrites help biological networks to implement complex functions such as processing natural stimuli on behavioral timescales, performing the inference process on those stimuli in a context-specific manner, and storing the information in overlapping populations of neurons. A global picture starts to emerge, in which dendrites help the brain achieve efficiency through a combination of optimization strategies that balance the tradeoff between performance and resource utilization.