This contribution concentrates on the evaluation of quantum processes in the brain that essentially contribute to the protection and activation of entanglement and their impact to consciousness. The corresponding calculations occur in the Fock space that represents discrete quantum fields, where the corresponding computations occur in the following succession. First, three possible weak interactions of emitted, small-sized neurotransmitters are described. These interdependencies are the attraction by electric dipole-dipole interaction, the attraction by the Morse potential and the repulsion characterized by s-wave scattering. Second, this article focus on ionotropic receptors that are embedded in a dense non-rigid grid. Anharmonic oscillators approximate these molecules, where their interactions cause grid vibrations. The determination of the expectation values of the total energy of the oscillating receptors, situated in two entangled ground states, demonstrate the existence of gap functions that shield the entanglement. This protected entanglement represents a bridge to the materialistic consciousness, and as well it refutes the dominant criticism against the quantum processes in the brain that decoherence destroys in picoseconds the entanglement (quantum coherence). The entangled entropy of the protected entangled states is not zero; what is a clear sign of entanglement. Third, consciousness activates the protected entanglement that reveals distinct positive effects, concerning the acquisition of information. Thus, the working space (associative cortices) that operates in a conscious state instantly gets compressed information on the current particular states of the cortical and subcortical components. Thereby, the emergence of consciousness is a synergetic process, which is created by the mutual interdependencies (causal circularity) of the components of the working space (synergetic agents) and the subcortical areas (synergetic “slaves”).
This contribution concentrates on the evaluation of quantum processes in the brain that essentially contribute to the protection and activation of entanglement and their impact to consciousness. The corresponding calculations occur in the Fock space that represents discrete quantum fields, where the corresponding computations occur in the following succession. First, three possible weak interactions of emitted, small-sized neurotransmitters are described. These interdependencies are the attraction by electric dipole-dipole interaction, the attraction by the Morse potential and the repulsion characterized by s-wave scattering. Second, this article focus on ionotropic receptors that are embedded in a dense non-rigid grid. Anharmonic oscillators approximate these molecules, where their interactions cause grid vibrations. The determination of the expectation values of the total energy of the oscillating receptors, situated in two entangled ground states, demonstrate the existence of gap functions that shield the entanglement. This protected entanglement represents a bridge to the materialistic consciousness, and as well it refutes the dominant criticism against the quantum processes in the brain that decoherence destroys in picoseconds the entanglement (quantum coherence). The entangled entropy of the protected entangled states is not zero; what is a clear sign of entanglement. Third, consciousness activates the protected entanglement that reveals distinct positive effects, concerning the acquisition of information. Thus, the working space (associative cortices) that operates in a conscious state instantly gets compressed information on the current particular states of the cortical and subcortical components. Thereby, the emergence of consciousness is a synergetic process, which is created by the mutual interdependencies (causal circularity) of the components of the working space (synergetic agents) and the subcortical areas (synergetic “slaves”).
Electromagnetic quantum field interactions provide a deeper understanding of the emergence of consciousness through an ontological interpretation of quantum mechanics. Quasiparticle interactions in brain matter can produce virtual particles, hitherto mathematical conveniences, which reflect the manifold images of brain activities in terms of effects on charged particles that have physical quantum effect similar to the Aharonov-Bohm effect in quantum field theory. Electromagnetic potentials in the quantum domain pervade the entire brain through causative interactions. The exchange of energy quanta during quantum field interactions emerge as distinct patterns of quasiparticles and their entanglement produces waves of virtual particles with periodicities of discrete energies tethered through a common quantum potential as they interact and collectively represent the emergence of self-awareness as a quantum dynamic effect carried on the magnetic vector potential throughout the brain. This is caused by the magnetic dipole moments sensitivity to the phase shifts entrained by the zeitgeber acting on dipolar molecules in interfacial water. The emergence of consciousness is inseparable (spatiotemporally) in the sense that the endogenous electromagnetic field (and therefore the forces acting on the particles) vanish yet neurophenomenologically separate from the physical through the magnetic dipole moments sensitivity to the phase shifts of the coherent system. The subjective aspect of consciousness or phenomenal consciousness facilitates qualia as quantum information through information-physical interactions that metastabilize into rhythms unfolding through resonance into access consciousness as cognizable associable representations of subjective experiences. The transition from subjectivity occurs non-reductively from the microlevel to the macrolevel as a mechanism of spontaneous breaking of symmetry resulting from photon behavior of interfacial water instantiated by macroergic effects in the nuclei of neurons through a continuous supply of metabolic energy. The emergence of consciousness in living organisms disappears once autopoietic processes in populations of neurons cease to function.
This perspective explores various quantum models of consciousness from the viewpoint of quantum information science, offering potential ideas and insights. The models under consideration can be categorized into three distinct groups based on the level at which quantum mechanics might operate within the brain: those suggesting that consciousness arises from electron delocalization within microtubules inside neurons, those proposing it emerges from the electromagnetic field surrounding the entire neural network, and those positing it originates from the interactions between individual neurons governed by neurotransmitter molecules. Our focus is particularly on the Posner model of cognition, for which we provide preliminary calculations on the preservation of entanglement of phosphate molecules within the geometric structure of Posner clusters. These findings provide valuable insights into how quantum information theory can enhance our understanding of brain functions.
Identifying the physiological processes in the central nervous system that underlie our conscious experiences has been at the forefront of cognitive neuroscience. While the principles of classical physics were long found to be unaccommodating for a causally effective consciousness, the inherent indeterminism of quantum physics, together with its characteristic dichotomy between quantum states and quantum observables, provides a fertile ground for the physical modeling of consciousness. Here, we utilize the Schrödinger equation, together with the Planck–Einstein relation between energy and frequency, in order to determine the appropriate quantum dynamical timescale of conscious processes. Furthermore, with the help of a simple two-qubit toy model we illustrate the importance of non-zero interaction Hamiltonian for the generation of quantum entanglement and manifestation of observable correlations between different measurement outcomes. Employing a quantitative measure of entanglement based on Schmidt decomposition, we show that quantum evolution governed only by internal Hamiltonians for the individual quantum subsystems preserves quantum coherence of separable initial quantum states, but eliminates the possibility of any interaction and quantum entanglement. The presence of non-zero interaction Hamiltonian, however, allows for decoherence of the individual quantum subsystems along with their mutual interaction and quantum entanglement. The presented results show that quantum coherence of individual subsystems cannot be used for cognitive binding because it is a physical mechanism that leads to separability and non-interaction. In contrast, quantum interactions with their associated decoherence of individual subsystems are instrumental for dynamical changes in the quantum entanglement of the composite quantum state vector and manifested correlations of different observable outcomes. Thus, fast decoherence timescales could assist cognitive binding through quantum entanglement across extensive neural networks in the brain cortex.
This article describes small neurotransmitters as particles of a spinless quantum field. That is, the particles are Bosons that e.g. can occupy equal energy levels. In addition, we consider the particles of the presynaptic region before exocytosis occur as elements of a grand canonical ensemble that is in a thermodynamic equilibrium. Thus, the particles obey the Bose-Einstein statistics, which also determines the corresponding information entropy and the corresponding density matrix. When the release of neurotransmitters occur, the equilibrium collapses and the Bose-Einstein distribution transfers to the Poisson distribution. Moreover, the particles transmit as wave packets, with quantized energies and momenta, through the chemical synapses, where we also describe the effects of the quantum fluctuations. We mark this symmetry braking process that corresponds to a non-equilibrium phase transition by a threshold, which mainly depends on the mean of the particles number, with defined quanta. We model the connections of synaptic neurons of a population to a network by Hamiltonians that include both Bosons and Fermions and their interactions. Bosons are the carriers of messages (information) and Fermions are the switches, which forward these messages, with a modified content. The effects we observe in such a neural circuitry reveals a strong dependence of the solutions from the initial values and, more relevant, solutions with chaotic behavior exist. These circuitry-based ramifications together with possible internal malfunctioning of particular neurons (e.g. intermitted flow) of the network cause a sustainable reduction of the synaptic plasticity.
This article describes small neurotransmitters as particles of a spinless quantum field. That is, the particles are Bosons that e.g. can occupy equal energy levels. In addition, we consider the particles of the presynaptic region before exocytosis occur as elements of a grand canonical ensemble that is in a thermodynamic equilibrium. Thus, the particles obey the Bose-Einstein statistics, which also determines the corresponding information entropy and the corresponding density matrix. When the release of neurotransmitters occurs, the equilibrium collapses and the Bose-Einstein distribution transfers to the Poisson distribution. Moreover, the particles transmit as wave packets, with quantized energies and momenta, through the chemical synapses, where we also describe the effects of the quantum fluctuations. We mark this symmetry braking process that corresponds to a non-equilibrium phase transition by a threshold, which mainly depends on the mean of the particles number, with defined quanta. We model the connections of synaptic neurons of a population to a network by Hamiltonians that include both Bosons and Fermions and their interactions. Bosons are the carriers of messages (information) and Fermions are the switches, which forward these messages, with a modified content. The effects we observe in such a neural circuitry reveals a strong dependence of the solutions from the initial values and, more relevant, solutions with chaotic behavior exist. These circuitry-based ramifications together with possible internal malfunctioning of particular neurons (e.g. intermitted flow) of the network cause a sustainable reduction of the synaptic plasticity.
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.