Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1104.2472

Quantum Mind from a Classical Field Theory of the Brain

Paola Zizzi

Published Apr 13, 2011• 7 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We suggest that, with regard to a theory of quantum mind, brain processes can be described by a classical, dissipative, non-abelian gauge theory. In fact, such a theory has a hidden quantum nature due to its non-abelian character, which is revealed through dissipation, when the theory reduces to a quantum vacuum, where temperatures are of the order of absolute zero, and coherence of quantum states is preserved. We consider in particular the case of pure SU(2) gauge theory with a special anzatz for the gauge field, which breaks Lorentz invariance. In the ansatz, a contraction mapping plays the role of dissipation. In the limit of maximal dissipation, which corresponds to the attractive fixed point of the contraction mapping, the gauge fields reduce, up to constant factors, to the Pauli quantum gates for one-qubit states. Then tubuline-qubits can be processed in the quantum vacuum of the classical field theory of the brain, where decoherence is avoided due to the extremely low temperature. Finally, we interpret the classical SU(2) dissipative gauge theory as the quantum metalanguage (relative to the quantum logic of qubits), which holds the non-algorithmic aspect of the mind.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1104.2472

Related papers

Brain-Computer Interfaces and Quantum Robots

Eliano Pessa, Paola Zizzi

The actual (classical) Brain-Computer Interface attempts to use brain signals to drive suitable actuators performing the actions corresponding to subject's intention. However this goal is not fully reached, and when BCI works, it does only in particular situations. The reason of this unsatisfactory result is that intention cannot be conceived simply as a set of classical input-output relationships. It is therefore necessary to resort to quantum theory, allowing the occurrence of stable coherence phenomena, in turn underlying high-level mental processes such as intentions and strategies. More precisely, within the context of a dissipative Quantum Field Theory of brain operation it is possible to introduce generalized coherent states associated, within the framework of logic, to the assertions of a quantum metalanguage. The latter controls the quantum-mechanical computing corresponding to standard mental operation. It thus become possible to conceive a Quantum Cyborg in which a human mind controls, through a quantum metalanguage, the operation of an artificial quantum computer.

arXiv:0909.1508•Sep 8, 2009•4 citations

Looking for the Physical, Logical, and Computational Roots of the Mind

Paola Zizzi, Massimo Pregnolato

We discuss the modalities by which we humans should (and in fact, do) compute. That is, we investigate about the logical languages and the computational modes of human reasoning, and the corresponding physical interpretation. In this context, however, the classical world (physical, logical, and computational) does not seem sufficient to give a complete description of the Mind. In fact, the Mind accomplishes different tasks, where it exhibits, alternatively, both classical and quantum features. There are some novelties in two important issues: the long-standing debate on the mind-body relationship, and Turing’s question about a possible identification of the Mind with a computer. The introduction of a quantum metalanguage (QML) for the logic of reasoning is the most important feature to deal with both issues. As far as the first issue is considered, the QML is physically interpreted as a Dissipative Quantum Field Theory (DQFT) of the brain. The corresponding quantum object-language (QOL), which is the logic of reasoning, and is controlled by the QML, is physically interpreted as the Quantum Mechanics of qubits, that is, Quantum Computing (QC). Therefore, the Mind is both language and metalanguage, and the brain is its physical interpretation.

Journal of consciousness exploration & research•May 24, 2012•1 citation

Entanglement and Phase-Mediated Correlations in Quantum Field Theory. Application to Brain-Mind States

Shantena Augusto Sabbadini, Giuseppe Vitiello

The entanglement phenomenon plays a central role in quantum optics and in basic aspects of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. We review the dissipative quantum model of brain and the role of the entanglement in the brain-mind activity correlation and in the formation of assemblies of coherently-oscillating neurons, which are observed to appear in different regions of the cortex by use of EEG, ECoG, fNMR, and other observational methods in neuroscience.

Applied Sciences•Aug 6, 2019•49 citations

A Quantum–Classical Model of Brain Dynamics

Alessandro Sergi, ANTONINO MESSINA, Gabriel Hanna +2 more

The study of the human psyche has elucidated a bipartite structure of logic reflecting the quantum-classical nature of the world. Accordingly, we posited an approach toward studying the brain by means of the quantum-classical dynamics of a mixed Weyl symbol. The mixed Weyl symbol can be used to describe brain processes at the microscopic level and, when averaged over an appropriate ensemble, can provide a link to the results of measurements made at the meso and macro scale. Within this approach, quantum variables (such as, for example, nuclear and electron spins, dipole momenta of particles or molecules, tunneling degrees of freedom, and so on) can be represented by spinors, whereas the electromagnetic fields and phonon modes can be treated either classically or semi-classically in phase space by also considering quantum zero-point fluctuations. Quantum zero-point effects can be incorporated into numerical simulations by controlling the temperature of each field mode via coupling to a dedicated Nosé-Hoover chain thermostat. The temperature of each thermostat was chosen in order to reproduce quantum statistics in the canonical ensemble. In this first paper, we introduce a general quantum-classical Hamiltonian model that can be tailored to study physical processes at the interface between the quantum and the classical world in the brain. While the approach is discussed in detail, numerical calculations are not reported in the present paper, but they are planned for future work. Our theory of brain dynamics subsumes some compatible aspects of three well-known quantum approaches to brain dynamics, namely the electromagnetic field theory approach, the orchestrated objective reduction theory, and the dissipative quantum model of the brain. All three models are reviewed.

arXiv:2301.09569•Entropy•Mar 30, 2023•17 citations

The Mind-Brain Problem and the Measurement Paradox of Quantum Mechanics: Should We Disentangle Them?

Javier Sánchez Cañizares

In recent decades, progress in the field of neurosciences has triggered an interest in understanding mind-brain relationships. Quantum Mechanics (QM) has been present in the debate from its beginnings through the well-known measurement paradox. The standard interpretation of QM considers two basic, fundamentally irreducible, processes: the deterministic evolution of the wave-function according to the Schrodinger equation, once the initial conditions have been settled; and the indeterministic wave-function collapse into one of the possible outcomes, after performing a specific measurement. So, QM would point to the limits of a purely deterministic view of nature and, in particular, of brains. Nevertheless, QM’s relevance for the brain’s physics is still to be proven. Detractors of the QM influence are confident of the role of decoherent processes at different physical scales in order to ensure a classical deterministic behavior of the brain. However, little attention is paid to the epistemic implications of invoking decoherence for the mind-brain problem. In this paper, (i) we present lasting QM models stating a specific view of human consciousness and make explicit their position regarding the relationship between the physical activity of neurons and/or networks of neurons and the phenomenal conscious experience; (ii) we review the main criticisms of the relevance of QM in the brain and, most importantly, we bring out the philosophical implications behind the usual recourse to decoherence in the transition from the quantum to the classical world, explaining why the mind-brain problem and the measurement paradox should not be disentangled.

NeuroQuantology•Oct 30, 2013•2 citations

The Quantum Mind/Classical Brain Problem

Alfredo Pereira

The quantum theory of mind allows a shift from the Mind/Brain metaphysical problem to the Quantum Mind/Classical Brain scientific problem: how could systematic and coherent quantum processes - assumed to be the physical support of our conscious experiences - occur in a macroscopic system as the brain? I discuss a solution based on a neurobiological model that attributes to quantum computation in intra-neuronal signal-transduction pathways the role of directly supporting phenomenal experience. In this model, quantum coherence is created or prepared by classical mechanisms as recurrent neuronal networks, oscillatory synchrony and gated membrane channels, thus avoiding common theoretical constraints for the existence of quantum communication and computation, as ultra-cold temperatures and quasi-isolation from the environment.

NeuroQuantology•Sep 3, 2007•16 citations
We suggest that, with regard to a theory of quantum mind, brain processes can be described by a classical, dissipative, non-abelian gauge theory. In fact, such a theory has a hidden quantum nature due to its non-abelian character, which is revealed through dissipation, when the theory reduces to a quantum vacuum, where temperatures are of the order of absolute zero, and coherence of quantum states is preserved. We consider in particular the case of pure SU(2) gauge theory with a special anzatz for the gauge field, which breaks Lorentz invariance. In the ansatz, a contraction mapping plays the role of dissipation. In the limit of maximal dissipation, which corresponds to the attractive fixed point of the contraction mapping, the gauge fields reduce, up to constant factors, to the Pauli quantum gates for one-qubit states. Then tubuline-qubits can be processed in the quantum vacuum of the classical field theory of the brain, where decoherence is avoided due to the extremely low temperature. Finally, we interpret the classical SU(2) dissipative gauge theory as the quantum metalanguage (relative to the quantum logic of qubits), which holds the non-algorithmic aspect of the mind.
The actual (classical) Brain-Computer Interface attempts to use brain signals to drive suitable actuators performing the actions corresponding to subject's intention. However this goal is not fully reached, and when BCI works, it does only in particular situations. The reason of this unsatisfactory result is that intention cannot be conceived simply as a set of classical input-output relationships. It is therefore necessary to resort to quantum theory, allowing the occurrence of stable coherence phenomena, in turn underlying high-level mental processes such as intentions and strategies. More precisely, within the context of a dissipative Quantum Field Theory of brain operation it is possible to introduce generalized coherent states associated, within the framework of logic, to the assertions of a quantum metalanguage. The latter controls the quantum-mechanical computing corresponding to standard mental operation. It thus become possible to conceive a Quantum Cyborg in which a human mind controls, through a quantum metalanguage, the operation of an artificial quantum computer.
We discuss the modalities by which we humans should (and in fact, do) compute. That is, we investigate about the logical languages and the computational modes of human reasoning, and the corresponding physical interpretation. In this context, however, the classical world (physical, logical, and computational) does not seem sufficient to give a complete description of the Mind. In fact, the Mind accomplishes different tasks, where it exhibits, alternatively, both classical and quantum features. There are some novelties in two important issues: the long-standing debate on the mind-body relationship, and Turing’s question about a possible identification of the Mind with a computer. The introduction of a quantum metalanguage (QML) for the logic of reasoning is the most important feature to deal with both issues. As far as the first issue is considered, the QML is physically interpreted as a Dissipative Quantum Field Theory (DQFT) of the brain. The corresponding quantum object-language (QOL), which is the logic of reasoning, and is controlled by the QML, is physically interpreted as the Quantum Mechanics of qubits, that is, Quantum Computing (QC). Therefore, the Mind is both language and metalanguage, and the brain is its physical interpretation.
The study of the human psyche has elucidated a bipartite structure of logic reflecting the quantum-classical nature of the world. Accordingly, we posited an approach toward studying the brain by means of the quantum-classical dynamics of a mixed Weyl symbol. The mixed Weyl symbol can be used to describe brain processes at the microscopic level and, when averaged over an appropriate ensemble, can provide a link to the results of measurements made at the meso and macro scale. Within this approach, quantum variables (such as, for example, nuclear and electron spins, dipole momenta of particles or molecules, tunneling degrees of freedom, and so on) can be represented by spinors, whereas the electromagnetic fields and phonon modes can be treated either classically or semi-classically in phase space by also considering quantum zero-point fluctuations. Quantum zero-point effects can be incorporated into numerical simulations by controlling the temperature of each field mode via coupling to a dedicated Nosé-Hoover chain thermostat. The temperature of each thermostat was chosen in order to reproduce quantum statistics in the canonical ensemble. In this first paper, we introduce a general quantum-classical Hamiltonian model that can be tailored to study physical processes at the interface between the quantum and the classical world in the brain. While the approach is discussed in detail, numerical calculations are not reported in the present paper, but they are planned for future work. Our theory of brain dynamics subsumes some compatible aspects of three well-known quantum approaches to brain dynamics, namely the electromagnetic field theory approach, the orchestrated objective reduction theory, and the dissipative quantum model of the brain. All three models are reviewed.
In recent decades, progress in the field of neurosciences has triggered an interest in understanding mind-brain relationships. Quantum Mechanics (QM) has been present in the debate from its beginnings through the well-known measurement paradox. The standard interpretation of QM considers two basic, fundamentally irreducible, processes: the deterministic evolution of the wave-function according to the Schrodinger equation, once the initial conditions have been settled; and the indeterministic wave-function collapse into one of the possible outcomes, after performing a specific measurement. So, QM would point to the limits of a purely deterministic view of nature and, in particular, of brains. Nevertheless, QM’s relevance for the brain’s physics is still to be proven. Detractors of the QM influence are confident of the role of decoherent processes at different physical scales in order to ensure a classical deterministic behavior of the brain. However, little attention is paid to the epistemic implications of invoking decoherence for the mind-brain problem. In this paper, (i) we present lasting QM models stating a specific view of human consciousness and make explicit their position regarding the relationship between the physical activity of neurons and/or networks of neurons and the phenomenal conscious experience; (ii) we review the main criticisms of the relevance of QM in the brain and, most importantly, we bring out the philosophical implications behind the usual recourse to decoherence in the transition from the quantum to the classical world, explaining why the mind-brain problem and the measurement paradox should not be disentangled.
The quantum theory of mind allows a shift from the Mind/Brain metaphysical problem to the Quantum Mind/Classical Brain scientific problem: how could systematic and coherent quantum processes - assumed to be the physical support of our conscious experiences - occur in a macroscopic system as the brain? I discuss a solution based on a neurobiological model that attributes to quantum computation in intra-neuronal signal-transduction pathways the role of directly supporting phenomenal experience. In this model, quantum coherence is created or prepared by classical mechanisms as recurrent neuronal networks, oscillatory synchrony and gated membrane channels, thus avoiding common theoretical constraints for the existence of quantum communication and computation, as ultra-cold temperatures and quasi-isolation from the environment.