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NeuroQuantology

A Preliminary Experimental Verification On the Possibility of Bell Inequality Violation in Mental States

Elio Conte, Andrei Yu. Khrennikov, Orlando Todarello, Antonio Federici, Joseph P. Zbilut

Published Sep 3, 2008• 85 citations
Publisher

Abstract

For the first time we perform an experiment to test the possibility of Bell's inequality violation in mental states, during perception-cognition in humans. We study under a theoretical and experimental framework, a Bell-type test for human perception-cognition of ambiguous figures. It is performed a detailed analysis which demonstrates that, although we have not yet been able to violate Bell's inequality in the present performed experiment, there are strong theoretical arguments supporting our expectation to violate it by a simple articulation of the same experiment. In this framework we introduce for the first time what we retain to represent quantum cognitive observables. We consider that our analysis provides a solid ground for further investigations on quantum behaviour of cognitive systems. Therefore we reaffirm that quantum mechanics is a Giano Bifronte theory (two-faced Giano, a mythological God of the past), looking from one hand to physical reality and from the other hand to the sphere of mental reality and cognitive dynamics.

DOI
10.14704/nq.2008.6.3.178

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For the first time we perform an experiment to test the possibility of Bell's inequality violation in mental states, during perception-cognition in humans. We study under a theoretical and experimental framework, a Bell-type test for human perception-cognition of ambiguous figures. It is performed a detailed analysis which demonstrates that, although we have not yet been able to violate Bell's inequality in the present performed experiment, there are strong theoretical arguments supporting our expectation to violate it by a simple articulation of the same experiment. In this framework we introduce for the first time what we retain to represent quantum cognitive observables. We consider that our analysis provides a solid ground for further investigations on quantum behaviour of cognitive systems. Therefore we reaffirm that quantum mechanics is a Giano Bifronte theory (two-faced Giano, a mythological God of the past), looking from one hand to physical reality and from the other hand to the sphere of mental reality and cognitive dynamics.
We give here a review of the experiments that we performed in the last few years to conclude that mentals states follow quantum mechanics. As theoretical basis we give explanation of the contextual dependence of probabilities in the theoretical basis that was introduced by A. Khrennikov. In this case the classical formula of total probability does not hold true in quantum systems unless an interference terms is added that moves in analogy with quantum mechanics in which the formula of probability is violated inducing the well known effects of interference. All the experiments were carried out on normal subjects during perception and cognition of ambiguous figures. All they confirmed the presence of such quantum like interference also for mental states. From here our unequivocal conclusion that mental states follow quantum mechanics. A position of quantum mechanics as Giano Bifronte, the two faced God of mythology, is discussed with respect to its role in the analysis and characterization of mental entities.
Processes undergoing quantum mechanics exhibit quantum interference effects. In this case, quantum probabilities result to be different from classical ones because they contain an additional so-called quantum interference term. We use ambiguous figures to analyse if during perception-cognition by human subjects we can observe violation of the classical probability field and the presence of quantum interference. The experiments, conducted on a group of 256 subjects, evidence that we indeed have such a quantum effect. Therefore, mental states, during perception and cognition of ambiguous figures, appear to follow quantum mechanics.
Temporally non-local measurements – single measurements yielding information about the state of a system at different instances – may provide a way to observe non-classical behavior in mental systems. The signature for such behavior is a violation of temporal Bell inequalities. We present such inequalities applicable to scenarios with two alternating mental states, such as in the perception of ambiguous figures. We indicate empirical options for testing temporal Bell inequalities, and speculate about possible explanations in case these inequalities are indeed violated.
Introduction The purpose of the present study is to investigate quantum-like properties of mental states in bistable perception. In order to do this, we tested whether the temporal Bell inequality applied to bistable perception experiments[1] can be violated. In the present study, we used visual stimuli [2], where we can continuously and systematically manipulate two types of ambiguities in the perceived rotation of dots. When the rotation angle is large, the stimuli induce bistable percept. When the angle is small, the direction of rotation of the stimuli becomes difficult to judge. We use the stimuli to test if the temporal Bell inequality can be violated, and if so, under what parameter regime, it can be violated. Method Two patterns were presented alternately: a visual stimulus consisting of four disks, and one in which the disks were rotated by a specific angle (5-45 degrees) in each trial [FIG. 1(A)]. When the angle of rotation was close to 45 degrees, stimuli were perceived to rotate in one of the two directions for a while with occasional reversals at random times (i.e., bistable perception). When the angle of rotation was close to 5 degrees, no rotation was perceived beyond the angle of rotation of the stimulus, and left and right rotations were perceived alternately, but the angle of rotation was so small that it was difficult to determine the direction of rotation [FIG. 1(B)]. At two time points after the beep, the participants responded by pressing a button in the direction of rotation that they saw at that time [FIG. 1(C)]. Reference 1H. Atmanspacher, and T. Filk, J. Math. Psychol. 54, 314-321 (2010). 2S. Takei and S. Nishida, J. Vision. 10, 23 (2010). 3M. M. Wilde and A. Mizel, Found. Phys. 42, 256 (2012). Acknowledgement This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI JP20H05711 and MEXT Q-LEAP Grant Number JPMXS0120330644.