Statistical mechanical foundation of Weber-Fechner laws

TL;DR

This paper provides a statistical physics-based theoretical explanation for Weber-Fechner laws, linking perception to nonequilibrium response theory and dynamical activity changes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel response theory framework for nonequilibrium systems to explain perceptual laws based on dynamical activity.

Findings

Perception correlates with changes in dynamical activity in nonequilibrium systems.

Extra currents in stationary nonequilibria encode stimulus logarithmically.

Theoretical foundation connects perceptual laws with statistical physics principles.

Abstract

Even though the phenomenological relations between perception and stimulus have been firmly established, a theoretical argument for Weber's and Fechner's law in terms of relevant models or from statistical physics is largely missing. We present such a discussion in terms of response theory for nonequilibrium systems, where the induced displacement or current, which stands for the perceived stimulus, crucially depends on the change in time-symmetric reactivities. Stationary nonequilibria may indeed generate extra currents by changing the dynamical activity. The argument finishes by understanding how the extra dynamical activity logarithmically encodes the actual stimulus.