Bridging integrated information theory and the free-energy principle in living neuronal networks
arXiv Preprint Archive October 5, 2025 Teruki Mayama, Sota Shimizu, Yuki Takano et al.
Repeated stimulation from hidden sources caused neuronal cultures to develop source selectivity. Variational free energy decreased across sessions while accuracy and Bayesian surprise increased. A proxy measure of integrated information and the size of the main complex followed a hill-shaped trajectory, with informational cores organizing diverse neuronal activity. Integrated information correlated strongly and positively with Bayesian surprise, modestly and heterogeneously with accuracy, and showed no significant relationship with variational free energy. The positive coupling between integrated information and Bayesian surprise likely reflects the diversity of activity observed in critical dynamics. These findings suggest integrated information increases specifically during belief updating when sensory inputs are most informative, rather than tracking model efficiency.