For many years, it has been speculated that consciousness and cognition could be the based on quantum information \cite{sep-qt-consciousness} which opposes the view that quantum coherence, the primary basis of quantum computing \cite{nielsen_chuang_2010} , cannot survive in complex biological systems \cite{Koch_2006,Tegmark_2000} . However, recent findings in photosynthesis \cite{Engel_2007,Collini_2010} have challenged this view suggesting that only long-range quantum coherence between molecules can account for its efficiency in light-harvesting. Here, we investigated if long-range quantum coherence may also play a decisive role in brain function. We found surprisingly that the cardiac pressure pulse evoked zero-quantum coherence (iZQC) \cite{Warren_1998} which were by a magnitude higher than theoretically expected. From this finding, we concluded that underlying physiological process is - cautiously speaking - of an unknown macroscopic non-classical kind. The process reveals it importance by it temporal appearance; during consciousness it is highly synchronized with the cardiac pulse, while during sleep, no or only sporadic iZQC could be detected. This findings suggest that this non-classical phenomenon is most likely a necessity for consciousness.
For many years, it has been speculated that consciousness and cognition could be the based on quantum information \cite{sep-qt-consciousness} which opposes the view that quantum coherence, the primary basis of quantum computing \cite{nielsen_chuang_2010} , cannot survive in complex biological systems \cite{Koch_2006,Tegmark_2000} . However, recent findings in photosynthesis \cite{Engel_2007,Collini_2010} have challenged this view suggesting that only long-range quantum coherence between molecules can account for its efficiency in light-harvesting. Here, we investigated if long-range quantum coherence may also play a decisive role in brain function. We found surprisingly that the cardiac pressure pulse evoked zero-quantum coherence (iZQC) \cite{Warren_1998} which were by a magnitude higher than theoretically expected. From this finding, we concluded that underlying physiological process is - cautiously speaking - of an unknown macroscopic non-classical kind. The process reveals it importance by it temporal appearance; during consciousness it is highly synchronized with the cardiac pulse, while during sleep, no or only sporadic iZQC could be detected. This findings suggest that this non-classical phenomenon is most likely a necessity for consciousness.
Recent proposals in quantum gravity have suggested that unknown systems can mediate entanglement between two known quantum systems, if and only if the mediator itself is non-classical. This approach may be applicable to the brain, where speculations about quantum operations in consciousness and cognition have a long history. Proton spins of bulk water, which most likely interfere with any brain function, can act as the known quantum systems. If an unknown mediator exists, then NMR methods based on multiple quantum coherence (MQC) can act as entanglement witness. However, there are doubts that today’s NMR signals can contain quantum correlations in general, and specifically in the brain environment. Here, we used a witness protocol based on zero quantum coherence (ZQC) whereby we minimised the classical signals to circumvent the NMR detection limits for quantum correlation. For short repetitive periods, we found evoked signals in most parts of the brain, whereby the temporal appearance resembled heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEPs). We found that those signals had no correlates with any classical NMR contrast. Similar to HEPs, the evoked signal depended on conscious awareness. Consciousness-related or electrophysiological signals are unknown in NMR. Remarkably, these signals only appeared if the local properties of the magnetisation were reduced. Our findings suggest that we may have witnessed entanglement mediated by consciousness-related brain functions. Those brain functions must then operate non-classically, which would mean that consciousness is non-classical.
Abstract Recent proposals in quantum gravity have suggested that unknown systems can mediate entanglement between two known quantum systems, if and only if the mediator itself is non-classical. This approach may be applicable to the brain, where speculations about quantum operations in consciousness and cognition have a long history. Proton spins of bulk water, which most likely interfere with any brain function, can act as the known quantum systems. If an unknown mediator exists, then NMR methods based on multiple quantum coherence (MQC) can act as entanglement witness. However, there are doubts that today’s NMR signals can contain quantum correlations in general, and specifically in the brain environment. Here, we used a witness protocol based on zero quantum coherence (ZQC) whereby we minimised the classical signals to circumvent the NMR detection limits for quantum correlation. For short repetitive periods, we found evoked signals in most parts of the brain, whereby the temporal appearance resembled heartbeatevoked potentials (HEPs). We found that those signals had no correlates with any classical NMR contrast. Similar to HEPs, the evoked signal depended on conscious awareness. Consciousness-related or electrophysiological signals are unknown in NMR. Remarkably, these signals only appeared if the local properties of the magnetisation were reduced. Our findings suggest that we may have witnessed entanglement mediated by consciousness-related brain functions. Those brain functions must then operate non-classically, which would mean that consciousness is non-classical.
Abstract Recent proposals in quantum gravity have suggested that unknown systems can mediate entanglement between two known quantum systems, if the mediator itself is non-classical. This approach may be applicable to the brain, where speculations about quantum operations in consciousness and cognition have a long history. Proton spins of bulk water, which most likely interfere with any brain function, can act as the known quantum systems. If an unknown mediator exists, then NMR methods based on multiple quantum coherence (MQC) can act as an entanglement witness. However, there are doubts that today’s NMR signals can contain quantum correlations in general, and specifically in the brain environment. Here, we used a witness protocol based on zero quantum coherence (ZQC) where we minimized the classical signals to circumvent the NMR detection limits for quantum correlation. For short repetitive periods, we found evoked signals in most parts of the brain, whereby the temporal appearance resembled heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEPs). We found that those signals had no correlates with any classical NMR contrast. Similar to HEPs, the evoked signal depended on conscious awareness. Consciousness-related or electrophysiological signals are unknown in NMR. Remarkably, these signals only appeared if the local properties of the magnetization were reduced. Our findings suggest that we may have witnessed entanglement mediated by consciousness-related brain functions. Those brain functions must then operate non-classically, which would mean that consciousness is non-classical.
Abstract Exploring unknown quantum systems is an experimental challenge. Recent proposals exploring quantum gravity have suggested circumventing this problem by considering the unknown system as a mediator between two known systems. If such a mediation can locally generate entanglement in the known systems, then the mediator must be non-classical. The same approach may be applicable to other systems, in particular the brain, where speculations about quantum operations in consciousness and cognition have a long history. Translated to the brain, the mediator is then an unknown brain function. For the quantum systems, we could use proton spins of bulk water, which most likely interfere with the any brain function. Entanglement in these spins can be witnessed with multiple quantum coherence (MQC). We based our witness protocol on zero quantum coherence (ZQC) whereby potential signals from local properties were minimised. For short repetitive periods, we found ZQC signals in large parts of the brain, whereby the temporal appearance resembled heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEPs). Similar to HEPs, we also found that the ZQC signal depended on conscious awareness. Consciousness-related signals have, to our knowledge, not yet been reported in NMR. Remarkably, we could exclude local properties as contrast mechanism because (a) the ZQC signals had no correlates known in conventional MRI, and (b) the ZQC signals only appeared if the local properties of the magnetisation, which are complementary to non-local properties, were reduced. Our findings suggest that we may have witnessed entanglement mediated by consciousness-related brain functions. Those brain functions must then operate non-classically, which would mean that consciousness is non-classical.
This paper presents in details how the subjective time is constructed by the brain cortex via reading packets of information called "time labels", produced by the right basal ganglia that act as brain timekeeper. Psychophysiological experiments have measured the subjective "time quanta" to be 40 ms and show that consciousness operates beyond that scale - an important result having profound implications for the Q-mind theory. Although in most current mainstream biophysics research on cognitive processes, the brain is modelled as a neural network obeying classical physics, Penrose (1989, 1997) and others have argued that quantum mechanics may play an essential role, and that successful brain simulations can only be performed with a quantum computer. Tegmark (2000) showed that make-or-break issue for the quantum models of mind is whether the relevant degrees of freedom of the brain can be sufficiently isolated to retain their quantum coherence and tried to settle the issue with detailed calculations of the relevant decoherence rates. He concluded that the mind is classical rather than quantum system, however his reasoning is based on biological inconsistency. Here we present detailed exposition of molecular neurobiology and define the dynamical timescale of cognitive processes linked to consciousness to be 10-15 ps showing that macroscopic quantum coherent phenomena in brain are not ruled out, and even may provide insight in understanding life, information and consciousness.
This working paper explores the hypothesis that quantum coherence observed in neuronal microtubules may not merely support conscious experience, but may be actively chaped or selected by it. building on prior work outlining a coherence control framework for physical systems, this paper examines whether biological structures such as microtubules can function as interfaces where macroscopic cognitive states influence microscopic coherence dynamics.\ Recent experimental and theoretical studies in quantum biology suggest that microtubules may sustain transient quantum coherence under physiological conditions. While most existing modles treat these effects as bottom-up contributors to cognition, this work investigates a complementary top-down perspective: that conscious processes may bias, stablilize, or collapse coherent states within biological substrates. The paper does not claim impirical proof, but proposes a conceptual mapping between coherence selection, neural organization, and subjective experience. This framework is peresented as an exploratory theoretical modle intended to generate testable questions at the intersection of neuroscience, quantum physics, and consciousness studies. This work extends earlier coherence-based modles while remaining explicitly speculative and open to refinement though empirical and theoretical critique.