Developmental Potassium Channel Maturation Enables Robust and Flexible Learning

Modern AI has flourished without molecular detail. Here I examine neural maturation in computational and molecular-physiological contexts. Immature transmission supports learning but collapses beyond task/load thresholds. A developmental screen identified KCNH7, upregulated in mouse cortex, incorporating its channel kinetics elevated spike threshold and stabilized recall, linking maturation to robustness without mechanistic elaboration. In unsupervised Restricted Boltzmann Machines, greater dynamical instability improved performance on complex tasks, highlighting a complementary regime. Developmentally plausible changes in KCNH7 conductance re-tuned reservoir dynamics and chaos, with appropriate levels improving memory and generalization, whereas excessive conductance degraded stability. Brief GPCR-like K ⁺ modulation balanced responsiveness and accuracy, suggesting neuromodulatory K ⁺ control as a lever for high-dimensional learning.