What can astrocytes compute?

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Abstract

A foundational result in neural computation was proving the firing-rate model of neurons defines a universal function approximator. In this paper I prove it is possible for astrocytes to compute anything neurons can, by extending this original proof to a model of calcium waves in astrocytes. I confirm this in a series of computer simulations. The major limit for astrocytes, it turns out, is not their ability to learn solutions but the computational complexity of their network. I suggest some initial experiments that might be used to confirm these predictions.

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europepmc
last seen: 2026-05-19T01:45:01.086888+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-05-27T02:00:06.600101+00:00
License: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0