The relation between microtubules architecture in the cytoskeletal structure inside the dendrites and soma and the emergence of neuron function and firing action potential crosses the tiny line between physics and biology.As decoherence is a fundamental mechanism in some biological process such as photosynthesis and others examples, the gravitational quantum approach may contribute to elucidate if neuron function really emerges from quantum coherence in neuronal microtubules.The Einstein equation correlates the stress-energy tensor to a specific divergence-free combination Ricci tensor and the metric.In the semiclassical formulation, we have G which describes the quantum field in curved space-time geometry.But for a more precise equation in relation to the stress-energy tensor, we know that in a non-zero temperature, the wave-function is not enough to describe the physical reality.A more precise equation demands a formulation in the density-matrix form, , but for now there is no Diósi-Penrose model with density-matrix formulation.Such a density-matrix description can be viewed as a probability mixture of different wave-functions.Using some algebra and rules related to the mathematical manipulation of the density-matrix applied to operators, such the stress energy tensor, we found the von Neumann-Einstein equation for the general relativity equation in the density matrix operator form, G Tr .Thus density-matrix operator-instead of just a wave function of pure states-applied to the stress-energy tensor gives the curvature of space time, given by Einstein tensor, G .The quantum fluctuation in the gravitational space-time field might feed back to decohere the quantum density-matrix.As long as decoherence can be viewed as the loss of information from a system to the environment, the density-matrix is also related to that process and considering the measurement problem, density-matrix is a more complete description of the possible outcome of the measurement.It is possible that some characteristics of the special microtubulin-associated proteins (MAP) that capes the dendritic-somatic microtubulins which could induces longer-lived nuclear spin states prevented from de-polymerization and suitable for long term information encode and memory.Understand the mechanism by which the hyper-phosphorylation in type tau-MAP displacements from microtubulins results in neurofibrillary tangles and cognitive dysfunctions in Alzheimer's disease.
The relation between microtubules architecture in the cytoskeletal structure inside the dendrites and soma and the emergence of neuron function and firing action potential crosses the tiny line between physics and biology.As decoherence is a fundamental mechanism in some biological process such as photosynthesis and others examples, the gravitational quantum approach may contribute to elucidate if neuron function really emerges from quantum coherence in neuronal microtubules.The Einstein equation correlates the stress-energy tensor to a specific divergence-free combination Ricci tensor and the metric.In the semiclassical formulation, we have G which describes the quantum field in curved space-time geometry.But for a more precise equation in relation to the stress-energy tensor, we know that in a non-zero temperature, the wave-function is not enough to describe the physical reality.A more precise equation demands a formulation in the density-matrix form, , but for now there is no Diósi-Penrose model with density-matrix formulation.Such a density-matrix description can be viewed as a probability mixture of different wave-functions.Using some algebra and rules related to the mathematical manipulation of the density-matrix applied to operators, such the stress energy tensor, we found the von Neumann-Einstein equation for the general relativity equation in the density matrix operator form, G Tr .Thus density-matrix operator-instead of just a wave function of pure states-applied to the stress-energy tensor gives the curvature of space time, given by Einstein tensor, G .The quantum fluctuation in the gravitational space-time field might feed back to decohere the quantum density-matrix.As long as decoherence can be viewed as the loss of information from a system to the environment, the density-matrix is also related to that process and considering the measurement problem, density-matrix is a more complete description of the possible outcome of the measurement.It is possible that some characteristics of the special microtubulin-associated proteins (MAP) that capes the dendritic-somatic microtubulins which could induces longer-lived nuclear spin states prevented from de-polymerization and suitable for long term information encode and memory.Understand the mechanism by which the hyper-phosphorylation in type tau-MAP displacements from microtubulins results in neurofibrillary tangles and cognitive dysfunctions in Alzheimer's disease.
Abstract Features of consciousness difficult to understand in terms of conventional neuroscience have evoked application of quantum theory, which describes the fundamental behavior of matter and energy. In this paper we propose that aspects of quantum theory (e.g. quantum coherence) and of a newly proposed physical phenomenon of quantum wave function “self-collapse” (objective reduction: OR - Penrose, 1994) are essential for consciousness, and occur in cytoskeletal microtubules and other structures within each of the brain's neurons. The particular characteristics of microtubules suitable for quantum effects include their crystal-like lattice structure, hollow inner core, organization of cell function and capacity for information processing. We envisage that conformational states of microtubule subunits (tubulins) are coupled to internal quantum events, and cooperatively interact (compute) with other tubulins. We further assume that macroscopic coherent superposition of quantum-coupled tubulin conformational states occurs throughout significant brain volumes and provides the global binding essential to consciousness. We equate the emergence of the microtubule quantum coherence with pre-conscious processing which grows (for up to 500 ms) until the mass-energy difference among the separated states of tubulins reaches a threshold related to quantum gravity. According to the arguments for OR put forth in Penrose (1994), superpositioned states each have their own space-time geometries. When the degree of coherent mass-energy difference leads to sufficient separation of space-time geometry, the system must choose and decay (reduce, collapse) to a single universe state. In this way, a transient superposition of slightly differing space-time geometries persists until an abrupt quantum → classical reduction occurs. Unlike the random, “subjective reduction” (SR, or R) of standard quantum theory caused by observation or environmental entanglement, the OR we propose in microtubules is a self-collapse and it results in particular patterns of microtubule-tubulin conformational states that regulate neuronal activities including synaptic functions. Possibilities and probabilities for post-reduction tubulin states are influenced by factors including attachments of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) acting as “nodes” which tune and “orchestrate” the quantum oscillations. We thus term the self-tuning OR process in microtubules “orchestrated objective reduction” (“Orch OR”), and calculate an estimate for the number of tubulins (and neurons) whose coherence for relevant time periods (e.g. 500 ms) will elicit Orch OR. In providing a connection among (1) pre-conscious to conscious transition, (2) fundamental space-time notions, (3) non-computability, and (4) binding of various (time scale and spatial) reductions into an instantaneous event (“conscious now”), we believe Orch OR in brain microtubules is the most specific and plausible model for consciousness yet proposed.
Features of consciousness difficult to understand in terms of conventional neuroscience have evoked application of quantum theory, which describes the fundamental behavior of matter and energy. In this paper we propose that aspects of quantum theory (e.g. quantum coherence) and of a newly proposed physical phenomenon of quantum wave function self-collapse(objective reduction: OR -Penrose, 1994) are essential for consciousness, and occur in cytoskeletal microtubules and other structures within each of the brain's neurons. The particular characteristics of microtubules suitable for quantum effects include their crystal-like lattice structure, hollow inner core, organization of cell function and capacity for information processing. We envisage that conformational states of microtubule subunits (tubulins) are coupled to internal quantum events, and cooperatively interact (compute) with other tubulins. We further assume that macroscopic coherent superposition of quantum-coupled tubulin conformational states occurs throughout significant brain volumes and provides the global binding essential to consciousness. We equate the emergence of the microtubule quantum coherence with pre-conscious processing which grows (for up to 500 milliseconds) until the mass-energy difference among the separated states of tubulins reaches a threshold related to quantum gravity. According to the arguments for OR put forth in Penrose (1994), superpositioned states each have their own space-time geometries. When the degree of coherent mass-energy difference leads to sufficient separation of space-time geometry, the system must choose and decay (reduce, collapse) to a single universe state. In this way, a transient superposition of slightly differing space-time geometries persists until an abrupt quantum classical reduction occurs. Unlike the random, subjective reduction(SR, or R) of standard quantum theory caused by observation or environmental entanglement, the OR we propose in microtubules is a self-collapse and it results in particular patterns of microtubule-tubulin conformational states that regulate neuronal activities including synaptic functions. Possibilities and probabilities for post-reduction tubulin states are influenced by factors including attachments of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) acting as nodeswhich tune and orchestratethe quantum oscillations. We thus term the self-tuning OR process in microtubules orchestrated objective reduction(B>Orch OR, and calculate an estimate for the number of tubulins (and neurons) whose coherence for relevant time periods (e.g. 500 milliseconds) will elicit Orch OR. In providing a connection among 1) pre-conscious to conscious transition, 2) fundamental space-time notions, 3) non-computability, and 4) binding of various (time scale and spatial) reductions into an instantaneous event (conscious now, we believe Orch OR in brain microtubules is the most specific and plausible model for consciousness yet proposed.
The existence of living organisms in the mesoscopic realm may be quite nontrivial and actuallymay emerge from the interplay between quantum mechanics and gravity. On one side, quantumbiology investigates how quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition, entanglement,and tunnelling, contribute to biological processes. These quantum effects, once thought to beirrelevant in the “warm, wet, and noisy” environment of living organisms due to decoherence, havebeen found to play significant roles in various biological systems, from photosynthesis to enzymecatalysis. On the other side, gravitational forces have been implicated in the organization ofmicrotubules, which are essential for maintaining cellular structure and function. Recent studieshave demonstrated that gravitational forces can induce three-dimensional chromosomal conformational changes, which are associated with rapid transcriptional responses in human T cells. Sometheories propose that gravity might play a role in decoherence, such as in the Penrose-Hameroffmodel, which proposes that quantum coherence in microtubules could be the basis for consciousawareness and quantum computing-like information processing, with gravity playing a role in thecollapse of the quantum wave function. The model predictions that microtubules can support longrange coherent phenomena have been confirmed by experimental observations of superradiancefrom mega-networks of tryptophan UV-excited transition dipoles, particularly in microtubulearchitectures. Another experimental research highlights that microtubule network exhibits ahierarchy of three-fold resonant frequency patterns across biological scales – from tubulin proteinsto microtubules and neurons. This suggests a quantum-to-classical transition governed by scalefree dynamics, potentially underlying information processing in the brain. A very intriguing fact isthat at the most fundamental level of the origin of life, the standard genetic code, we can observethe scale-free computing that arises from arithmetic regularities of the nucleon numbers related tothe code’s numerous symmetries. Given that some of these symmetries probably originate fromdifferent evolutionary epochs, such scale-free computing may be a latent background mechanismof the organization of the genetic code and therefore relevant to natural computing.
What is consciousness? Conventional approaches see it as an emergent property of complex interactions among individual neurons; however these approaches fail to address enigmatic features of consciousness. Accordingly, some philosophers have contended that "qualia," or an experiential medium from which consciousness is derived, exists as a fundamental component of reality. Whitehead, for example, described the universe as being composed of "occasions of experience." To examine this possibility scientifically, the very nature of physical reality must be re-examined. We must come to terms with the physics of spacetime--as described by Einstein's general theory of relativity, and its relation to the fundamental theory of matter--as described by quantum theory. Roger Penrose has proposed a new physics of objective reduction: "OR," which appeals to a form of quantum gravity to provide a useful description of fundamental processes at the quantum/classical borderline. Within the OR scheme, we consider that consciousness occurs if an appropriately organized system is able to develop and maintain quantum coherent superposition until a specific "objective" criterion (a threshold related to quantum gravity) is reached; the coherent system then self-reduces (objective reduction: OR). We contend that this type of objective self-collapse introduces non-computability, an essential feature of consciousness which distinguishes our minds from classical computers. Each OR is taken as an instantaneous event--the climax of a self-organizing process in fundamental spacetime--and a candidate for a conscious Whitehead "occasion of experience." How could an OR process occur in the brain, be coupled to neural activities, and account for other features of consciousness? We nominate a quantum computational OR process with the requisite characteristics to be occurring in cytoskeletal micro-tubules within the brain's neurons. In this model, quantum-superposed states develop in microtubule subunit proteins ("tubulins") within certain brain neurons, remain coherent, and recruit more superposed tubulins until a mass-time-energy threshold (related to quantum gravity) is reached. At that point, self-collapse, or objective reduction (OR), abruptly occurs. We equate the pre-reduction, coherent superposition ("quantum computing") phase with pre-conscious processes, and each instantaneous (and non-computable) OR, or self-collapse, with a discrete conscious event. Sequences of OR events give rise to a "stream" of consciousness. Microtubule-associated proteins can "tune" the quantum oscillations of the coherent superposed states; the OR is thus self-organized, or "orchestrated" ("Orch OR"). Each Orch OR event selects (non-computably) microtubule subunit states which regulate synaptic/neural functions using classical signaling. The quantum gravity threshold for self-collapse is relevant to consciousness, according to our arguments, because macroscopic superposed quantum states each have their own spacetime geometries. These geometries are also superposed, and in some way "separated," but when sufficiently separated, the superposition of spacetime geometries becomes significantly unstable and reduces to a single universe state. Quantum gravity determines the limits of the instability; we contend that the actual choice of state made by Nature is non-computable. Thus each Orch OR event is a self-selection of spacetime geometry, coupled to the brain through microtubules and other biomolecules. If conscious experience is intimately connected with the very physics underlying spacetime structure, then Orch OR in microtubules indeed provides us with a completely new and uniquely promising perspective on the difficult problems of consciousness.
In the mid-1990s, it was proposed that quantum effects in proteins known as microtubules play a role in the nature of consciousness. The theory was largely dismissed due to the fact that quantum effects were thought unlikely to occur in biological systems, which are warm and wet and subject to decoherence. However, the development of quantum biology now suggests otherwise. Quantum effects have been implicated in photosynthesis, a process fundamental to life on earth. They are also possibly at play in other biological processes such as avian migration and olfaction. The microtubule mechanism of quantum consciousness has been joined by other theories of quantum cognition. It has been proposed that general anesthetic, which switches off consciousness, does this through quantum means, measured by changes in electron spin. The tunneling hypothesis developed in the context of olfaction has been applied to the action of neurotransmitters. A recent theory outlines how quantum entanglement between phosphorus nuclei might influence the firing of neurons. These, and other theories, have contributed to a growing field of research that investigates whether quantum effects might contribute to neural processing. This review aims to investigate the current state of this research and how fully the theory is supported by convincing experimental evidence. It also aims to clarify the biological sites of these proposed quantum effects and how progress made in the wider field of quantum biology might be relevant to the specific case of the brain.
Penrose and Hameroff have proposed that consciousness in the human brain may be based on gravitational interactions and quantum superposition states of electrons in tubulin cages in microtubules. Chiao has proposed experimental construction of a gravity antenna that might be analogous to tubulin caged electrons. Tegmark has criticized Penrose-Hameroff quantum consciousness, based on thermal decoherence of any such quantum superposition states. This paper briefly describes some experimental results and theoretical ideas that indicate to me that Tegmark's criticism may be invalid. Such theoretical ideas include Mead's quantum physics of resonance. This paper closes with brief summaries of ● relevant experiments of Grinberg-Zylberbaum, ● the quantum cosmology of Paula Zizzi, and ● 26-dimensional closed unoriented bosonic string theory interpreted as a manyworlds quantum theory in which strings correspond to world lines, with massless spin-2 gravitons in 26-dimensions corresponding to gravitational interaction among tubulin electrons in states with Penrose-Hameroff superposition separation. Penrose-Hameroff Quantum Consciousness Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff propose that Consciousness involves a Planck scale Decoherence of Quantum Superpositions that they call in their paper entitled Orchestrated Objective Reduction file:///iCube/Desktop%20Folder/QuantumMind%202004/QuantumMind2004.html (1 of 27) [12/2/2004 1:46:00 PM] Quantum Consciousness of Quantum Coherence in Brain Microtubules: The Orch OR Model for Consciousness. Figure 1 is a Schematic of central region of neuron (distal axon and dendrites not shown) showing parallel arrayed microtubules interconnected by MAPs [Microtubule Associated Proteins]. Microtubules in axons are lengthy and continuous, whereas in dendrites they are interrupted and of mixed polarity. Linking proteins connect microtubules to membrane proteins including receptors on dendritic spines.. The Centrosome, in most animal cells, acts as a Microtubule Organizing Center. Most Centrosomes contain a pair of Centrioles arrranged at right angles to each other in an L-shaped configuration. A Centriole is about 200 nm wide and 400 nm long. Its wall is made up of 9 groups of 3 microtubles. You can regard file:///iCube/Desktop%20Folder/QuantumMind%202004/QuantumMind2004.html (2 of 27) [12/2/2004 1:46:00 PM] Quantum Consciousness the A microtubule of a triplet as being a complete microtubule, with the B and C microtubules being incomplete microtubules fused to A and B respectively. Each triplet is tilted in toward the central axis at an angle of about 45 degrees. Each microtubule is a hollow cylindrical tube with about 25 nm outside diameter and 14 nm inside diameter, made up of 13 columns of Tubulin Dimers. ( The two preceding illustrations are from Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2nd ed, by Alberts, Bray, Lewis, Raff, Roberts, and Watson (Garland 1989) ) Each Tubulin Dimer is about 8 nm x 4 nm x 4 nm, consists of two parts, alpha-tubulin and beta-tubulin (each made up of about 450 Amino Acids, each of which contains roughly 20 Atoms), and can exist in (at least) 2 different geometrical configurations, or conformations, involving the position of a single Electron. Call this Electron the Conformation Electron, because in a single Tubulin Dimer its the position at the junction of the alpha-tubulin and the beta-tubulin determines the 2 different conformations of the Tubulin, which correspond to 2 different states of the dimer's electric polarization. There are 10^7 Tubulin Dimers per neuron, with 10% of them, or 10^6, estimated to be involved in the consciousness process, and the remainder doing other things needed to keep the cell alive. The human brain contains about 10^11 neurons. Therefore, the human brain contains about 10^18 tubulins, about 10^17 of which are involved in the consciousness process. The Tubulins in a Microtubule can represent Information, and act as Cellular Automata to process it. file:///iCube/Desktop%20Folder/QuantumMind%202004/QuantumMind2004.html (3 of 27) [12/2/2004 1:46:00 PM] Quantum Consciousness Roger Penrose says, in Shadows of the Mind (Oxford 1994), page 344, We can now consider the gravitational self-energy of that mass distribution which is the difference between the mass distributions of the two states that are to be considered in quantum linear superposition. The reciprocal of this selfenergy gives ... the reduction timescale .... This is the decoherence time T = h / E. For a given Particle, Stuart Hameroff describes this as a particle being separated from itself, saying that the Superposition Separation a is the separation/displacement of a mass separated from its superposed self. ... The picture is spacetime geometry separating from itself, and re-anealing after time T. .... If the Superposition consists of States involving one Particle of Mass m, but with Superposition Separation a, then the Superposition Separation Energy Difference is the gravitational energy