Stochastic resonance and signal detection in an energy detector--implications for biological receptor systems

Stochastic resonance is demonstrated in a simple energy detector model, as a non-monotonic relationship between signal-to-noise ratio and detection of a sinusoid signal in bandpass-limited Gaussian noise. The behaviour of the model detecting signals of various intensities and signal-to-noise ratios was investigated. Significant improvement in detection was obtained by adding noise for mean signal intensities below the detection criterion of the detector. The range of usable noise levels, however, may be too small to be biologically meaningful. It is demonstrated that improving detection in the analysed model by adding noise to an otherwise undetectable signal is only at best as efficient as what can be obtained by adjusting the criterion to the signal-to-noise ratio. Improving detection by means of stochastic resonance is thus a sub-optimal strategy. It is speculated whether a demonstration of stochastic resonance in a biological system indicates any adaptive significance. More than anything, it indicates the presence of a mismatch between receptor sensitivity and the signal-to-noise ratio of the experiment, not the cause of this mismatch.