Over the past two decades, quantum-like modeling (QLM) has emerged as a powerful framework for describing non-classical features of cognition and decision-making. Rather than assuming physical quantum processes in the brain, QLM employs the Hilbert space formalism to model contextuality, incompatibility of mental observables, and entanglement-like correlations. In this paper, we develop a quantum-informational model of mental markers within the broader I-field (information field) approach. We propose that, under conditions of information overload and limited cognitive resources, individuals primarily respond not to detailed semantic content but to compact content labels - mental markers - carrying cognitive and affective components. We formalize mental markers as structured quantum-like states and analyze the nonclassical correlations between their cognitive and affective components using the Contextuality-Incompatibility-Entanglement triad. Special attention is given to intra-system entanglement between rational (cognitive) evaluation and emotional (affective) coloring, accounting for context-dependent judgments, order effects, and affect-driven decision shifts. Illustrative examples with psychological interpretation and experimental perspectives are provided. An Appendix briefly discusses neurobiological analogues of information overload in neural networks, highlighting structural parallels with the proposed marker-based framework; coupling to the origin and diagnostics of neurological diseases is analyzed. The paper contributes to QLM by distinguishing inter-system and intra-system entanglement and by demonstrating that cognitive - affective entanglement constitutes a fundamental structural feature of mental markers in socially mediated information environments.
Over the past two decades, quantum-like modeling (QLM) has emerged as a powerful framework for describing non-classical features of cognition and decision-making. Rather than assuming physical quantum processes in the brain, QLM employs the Hilbert space formalism to model contextuality, incompatibility of mental observables, and entanglement-like correlations. In this paper, we develop a quantum-informational model of mental markers within the broader I-field (information field) approach. We propose that, under conditions of information overload and limited cognitive resources, individuals primarily respond not to detailed semantic content but to compact content labels - mental markers - carrying cognitive and affective components. We formalize mental markers as structured quantum-like states and analyze the nonclassical correlations between their cognitive and affective components using the Contextuality-Incompatibility-Entanglement triad. Special attention is given to intra-system entanglement between rational (cognitive) evaluation and emotional (affective) coloring, accounting for context-dependent judgments, order effects, and affect-driven decision shifts. Illustrative examples with psychological interpretation and experimental perspectives are provided. An Appendix briefly discusses neurobiological analogues of information overload in neural networks, highlighting structural parallels with the proposed marker-based framework; coupling to the origin and diagnostics of neurological diseases is analyzed. The paper contributes to QLM by distinguishing inter-system and intra-system entanglement and by demonstrating that cognitive - affective entanglement constitutes a fundamental structural feature of mental markers in socially mediated information environments.
Over the past two decades, quantum-like modeling (QLM) has emerged as a powerful framework for describing non-classical features of cognition and decision-making. Rather than assuming physical quantum processes in the brain, QLM employs the Hilbert space formalism to model contextuality, incompatibility of mental observables, and entanglement-like correlations. In this paper, we develop a quantum-informational model of mental markers within the broader information field approach. We propose that, under conditions of information overload and limited cognitive resources, individuals primarily respond not to detailed semantic content but to compact content labels - mental markers - carrying cognitive and affective components. We formalize mental markers as structured quantum-like states and analyze the nonclassical correlations between their cognitive and affective components using the Contextuality-Incompatibility-Entanglement triad. Special attention is given to intra-system entanglement between rational (cognitive) evaluation and emotional (affective) coloring, accounting for context-dependent judgments, order effects, and affect-driven decision shifts. Illustrative examples with psychological interpretation and experimental perspectives are provided. Appendix B briefly discusses neurobiological analogues of information overload in neural networks, highlighting structural parallels with the proposed marker-based framework; coupling to the origin and diagnostics of neurological diseases is analyzed. The paper contributes to QLM by distinguishing inter-system and intra-system entanglement and by demonstrating that cognitive-affective entanglement constitutes a fundamental structural feature of mental markers in socially mediated information environments.
Quantum-like modeling (QLM) – quantum theory applications outside of physics – are intensively developed with applications in biology, cognition, psychology, and decision-making. For cognition, QLM should be distinguished from quantum reductionist models in the spirit of Hameroff and Penrose and well as Umezawa and Vitiello. QLM is not concerned with just quantum physical processes in the brain but also QL information processing by macroscopic neuronal structures. Although QLM of cognition and decision-making has seen some success, it suffers from a knowledge gap that exists between oscillatory neuronal network functioning in the brain and QL behavioral patterns. Recently, steps toward closing this gap have been taken using the generalized probability theory and prequantum classical statistical field theory (PCSFT) – a random field model beyond the complex Hilbert space formalism. PCSFT is used to move from the classical ``oscillatory cognition'' of the neuronal networks to QLM for decision-making. In this study, we addressed the most difficult problem within this construction: QLM for entanglement generation by classical networks, i.e., “mental entanglement.” We started with the observational approach to entanglement based on operator algebras describing “local observables” and bringing into being the tensor product structure in the space of QL states. Moreover, we applied the standard states entanglement approach: entanglement generation by spatially separated networks in the brain. Finally, we discussed possible future experiments on “mental entanglement” detection using the EEG/MEG technique.
Quantum-like modeling (QLM) – quantum theory applications outside of physics – are intensively developed with applications in biology, cognition, psychology, and decision-making. For cognition, QLM should be distinguished from quantum reductionist models in the spirit of Hameroff and Penrose and well as Umezawa and Vitiello. QLM is not concerned with just quantum physical processes in the brain but also QL information processing by macroscopic neuronal structures. Although QLM of cognition and decision-making has seen some success, it suffers from a knowledge gap that exists between oscillatory neuronal network functioning in the brain and QL behavioral patterns. Recently, steps toward closing this gap have been taken using the generalized probability theory and prequantum classical statistical field theory (PCSFT) – a random field model beyond the complex Hilbert space formalism. PCSFT is used to move from the classical ``oscillatory cognition'' of the neuronal networks to QLM for decision-making. In this study, we addressed the most difficult problem within this construction: QLM for entanglement generation by classical networks, i.e., “mental entanglement.” We started with the observational approach to entanglement based on operator algebras describing “local observables” and bringing into being the tensor product structure in the space of QL states. Moreover, we applied the standard states entanglement approach: entanglement generation by spatially separated networks in the brain. Finally, we discussed possible future experiments on “mental entanglement” detection using the EEG/MEG technique.
Quantum-like modeling (QLM)– quantum theory applications outside of physics– are intensively developed with applications in biology, cognition, psychology, and decision-making. For cognition, QLM should be distinguished from quantum reductionist models in the spirit of Hameroff and Penrose and well as Umezawa and Vitiello. QLM is not concerned with just quantum physical processes in the brain but also QL information processing by macroscopic neuronal structures. Although QLM of cognition and decision-making has seen some success, it suffers from a knowledge gap that exists between oscillatory neuronal network functioning in the brain and QL behavioral patterns. Recently, steps toward closing this gap have been taken using the generalized probability theory and prequantum classical statistical field theory (PCSFT)– a random field model beyond the complex Hilbert space formalism. PCSFT is used to move from the classical “oscillatory cognition” of the neuronal networks to QLM for decision-making. In this study, we addressed the most difficult problem within this construction: QLM for entanglement generation by classical networks, i.e., “mental entanglement”. We started with the observational approach to entanglement based on operator algebras describing “local observables” and bringing into being the tensor product structure in the space of QL states. Moreover, we applied the standard states entanglement approach: entanglement generation by spatially separated networks in the brain. Finally, we discussed possible future experiments on “mental entanglement” detection using the EEG/MEG technique.
Social Laser Theory (SLT) provides an innovative quantum-like mathematical formalism for tracking complex collective social activation dynamics. While its macroscopic manifestations structurally mimic laser physics, the underlying driver stems from the internal state configurations of the individual "social atom." Broadening this framework, this Perspective article introduces a prescriptive, quantum-like conceptual architecture for the individual cognitive system, formalizing the social atom as a composite entity where mental markers-spanning cognitive, affective, and valence dimensions-are represented as internal degrees of freedom in an abstract Hilbert space. We propose a theoretical framework wherein social activation is modeled through a hypothetical Triple-Resonance Mechanism: the simultaneous quantum-like matching of semantic topic, energetic impact, and valence stance between the agent's internal state and the informational field. We detail how the recursive processing of quantized informational units ("infons") can be mathematically represented as a state of cognitive population inversion, and link it to Human Entanglement Theory (HET) by suggesting that the emergence of coherent informational fields is rooted in the phase alignment of these internal markers across a population. By situating SLT within Social Quantum Field Theory (SQFT), this paper offers a neuro-cognitively informed foundation for collective phenomena like emotional contagion and rapid narrative amplification. Our conceptual model suggests that the "Social Laser" should be understood not as a literal physical mapping, but as a flexible analytical manifestation of quantum-like effects across idealized descriptions of human cognitive and neuro-social architecture, serving as an epistemic baseline to stimulate future experimental design and contextuality testing.
ABSTRACT Recent advances at the intersection of quantum physics, neuroscience, and cognitive science have renewed interest in whether quantum phenomena and quantum‐inspired formalisms can inform models of human cognition and decision‐making. While classical neural and computational models explain many aspects of perception and behavior, they face limitations in accounting for contextuality, order effects, probabilistic reasoning violations, ambiguity resolution, and rapid information integration. This review synthesizes evidence and theoretical frameworks linking quantum‐related principles to cognition, with emphasis on quantum sensing in biological systems, molecular and subcellular quantum‐relevant mechanisms, quantum‐to‐classical transition pathways, quantum‐inspired models of perception and decision‐making, and quantum‐inspired computational approaches. It also extends beyond the probabilistic arm of quantum cognition by considering emerging equilibrium‐based and causal‐logical theories, including mental equilibrium, brain‐universe similarity, mind‐light‐matter unity, quantum emergence, and quantum intelligence. Throughout, the review distinguishes physically instantiated quantum mechanisms from abstract quantum‐like formalisms that model contextuality, mental entanglement, and non‐separable cognitive dynamics without requiring sustained macroscopic quantum coherence in the brain. Finally, it identifies methodological challenges and future directions for advancing quantum cognitive science toward experimentally testable and biologically meaningful theories.