General properties of the resource consumption principle of neural function.

It has been proposed that volumes of neural tissue may represent important processing elements. This viewpoint suggests one way that populations of synaptic elements cooperate to implement important computational capacities. I extend this view by proposing a set of computational functions for the extracellular space shared by a local population of synapses. The critical hypothesis is the existence of a hypothetical 'fluid' resource present outside synapses that must be internalized in order for a synapse to function. I outline some of the consequences of assuming that such a resource is in limited supply on short time scales.