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arXiv:0804.0190

Quantum Mechanical Basis of Vision

Ramakrishna Chakravarthi, A. K. Rajagopal, A. R. Usha Devi

Published Apr 1, 2008• 2 citations

Abstract

The two striking components of retina, i.e., the light sensitive neural layer in the eye, by which it responds to light are (the three types of) color sensitive Cones and color insensitive Rods (which outnumber the cones 20:1). The interaction between electromagnetic radiation and these photoreceptors (causing transitions between cis- and trans- states of rhodopsin molecules in the latter) offers a prime example of physical processes at the nano-bio interface. After a brief review of the basic facts about vision, we propose a quantum mechanical model (paralleling the Jaynes-Cummings model (JCM) of interaction of light with matter) of early vision describing the interaction of light with the two states of rhodopsin mentioned above. Here we model the early essential steps in vision incorporating, separately, the two well-known features of retinal transduction (converting light to neural signals): small numbers of cones respond to bright light (large number of photons) and large numbers of rods respond to faint light (small number of photons) with an amplification scheme. An outline of the method of solution of these respective models based on quantum density matrix is also indicated. This includes a brief overview of the theory, based on JCM, of signal amplification required for the perception of faint light. We envision this methodology, which brings a novel quantum approach to modeling neural activity, to be a useful paradigm in developing a better understanding of key visual processes than is possible with currently available models that completely ignore quantum effects at the relevant neural level.

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.0804.0190

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The two striking components of retina, i.e., the light sensitive neural layer in the eye, by which it responds to light are (the three types of) color sensitive Cones and color insensitive Rods (which outnumber the cones 20:1). The interaction between electromagnetic radiation and these photoreceptors (causing transitions between cis- and trans- states of rhodopsin molecules in the latter) offers a prime example of physical processes at the nano-bio interface. After a brief review of the basic facts about vision, we propose a quantum mechanical model (paralleling the Jaynes-Cummings model (JCM) of interaction of light with matter) of early vision describing the interaction of light with the two states of rhodopsin mentioned above. Here we model the early essential steps in vision incorporating, separately, the two well-known features of retinal transduction (converting light to neural signals): small numbers of cones respond to bright light (large number of photons) and large numbers of rods respond to faint light (small number of photons) with an amplification scheme. An outline of the method of solution of these respective models based on quantum density matrix is also indicated. This includes a brief overview of the theory, based on JCM, of signal amplification required for the perception of faint light. We envision this methodology, which brings a novel quantum approach to modeling neural activity, to be a useful paradigm in developing a better understanding of key visual processes than is possible with currently available models that completely ignore quantum effects at the relevant neural level.

The retina is a light-sensitive layer is structured at the plane outer segments of an array of millions of individual nano-antennas. Apparently, the retina is one of the best known quantum detectors with rod cells able to respond to a single photon. It seems, the retina is an excellent photon counter and quantum processing of information occurs within the retina and subsequent processing of information at the level of neural membranes decrease the quantum efficiency. In this article we review on some evidences of quantum processing in the retina and finally propose some proposal experiments and ideas to detect quantum superposition in the retina.

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In human eyes, retina cells have shown complicated, sophisticated structures, and thus capability of carrying out certain basic visual functions. In computer vision, a spherical model has been proposed to demonstrate that certain basic visual functions can be performed at the sensor/photoreceptor level for target recognition, mobile robotic control, and other applications. This paper will establish that low level computer vision in this spherical model exhibits a Hamiltonian model of quantum computation. This results will be important to the understanding of human vision as well as the development of intelligent visual sensor chips and devices in electronics and optics.

The human eye contains millions of rod photoreceptor cells, and each one is a single-photon detector. Whether people can actually see a single photon|which requires the rod signal to propagate through the rest of the noisy visual system and be perceived in the brain|has been the subject of research for nearly 100 years. Early experiments hinted that people could see just a few photons, but classical light sources are poor tools for answering these questions. Single-photon sources have opened up a new area of vision research, providing the best evidence yet that humans can indeed see single photons, and could even be used to test quantum effects through the visual system. We discuss our program to study the lower limits of human vision with a heralded single-photon source based on spontaneous parametric downconversion, and present two proposed experiments to explore quantum effects through the visual system: testing the perception of superposition states, and using a human observer as a detector in a Bell test.

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