Evolution as Explanation: The Origins of Neural Codes and their Efficiencies

Abstract

Neural codes appear efficient. Naturally, neuroscientists contend that an efficient process is responsible for generating efficient codes. They argue that natural selection is the efficient process that generates those codes. Although natural selection is an adaptive process, evolution itself, is not. Evolution consists of not only natural selection, but also neutral stochastic forces that can generate biological inefficiencies. The explanatory power of natural selection cannot be appealed to, without regards for the remaining evolutionary forces. In this paper, we aim to reformulate the explanatory role of evolutionary forces on neural coding, with special attention to neutral forces. We propose a framework that argues for differing contributions of adaptive and stochastic evolutionary forces, for different phenotypic 'levels', including those of neural codes. We assert that this framework is of special interest to neuroscience, because the field has derived much progress from an efficiency-based worldview. We advocate for a pluralistic neuroscience capable of appealing to both adaptive and non-adaptive explanations.