Quantum zeno effect and brain

Hiromichi Nakazato, Mikio Namiki, Saverio Pascazio +1 more

Danko Dimchev Georgiev

Environmental decoherence appears to be the biggest obstacle for successful construction of quantum mind theories. Nevertheless, the quantum physicist Henry Stapp promoted the view that the mind could utilize quantum Zeno effect to influence brain dynamics and that the efficacy of such mental efforts would not be undermined by environmental decoherence of the brain. To address the physical plausibility of Stapp's claim, we modeled the brain using quantum tunneling of an electron in a multiple-well structure such as the voltage sensor in neuronal ion channels and performed Monte Carlo simulations of quantum Zeno effect exerted by the mind upon the brain in the presence or absence of environmental decoherence. The simulations unambiguously showed that the quantum Zeno effect breaks down for timescales greater than the brain decoherence time. To generalize the Monte Carlo simulation results for any n-level quantum system, we further analyzed the change of brain entropy due to the mind probing actions and proved a theorem according to which local projections cannot decrease the von Neumann entropy of the unconditional brain density matrix. The latter theorem establishes that Stapp's model is physically implausible but leaves a door open for future development of quantum mind theories provided the brain has a decoherence-free subspace.

Anu Venugopalan, Rupamanjari Ghosh

Henry Pierce Stapp

A quantum mechanical theory of the relationship between perceptions and brain dynamics based on von Neumann's theory of measurments is applied to a recent quantum theoretical treatment of binocular rivaly that makes essential use of the quantum Zeno effect to give good fits to the complex available empirical data. The often-made claim that decoherence effects in the warm, wet, noisy brain must eliminate quantum effects at the macroscopic scale pertaining to perceptions is examined, and it is argued, on the basis of fundamental principles. that the usual decoherence effects will not upset the quantum Zeno effect that is being exploited in the cited work.

Danko Dimchev Georgiev

In this article we present the mathematical formalism of Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE) and explain how the QZE arises from suppression of coherent evolution due to external strong probing action. Then we prove that the model advocated by Henry Stapp, in which mind efforts are able to exert QZE upon brain states, is not robust against environmental decoherence if the mind is supposed not to violate the Born rule and to act only locally at the brain. The only way for Stapp to patch his proposal would require postulation of mind efforts acting globally on the brain and the entangled environment, which would be regression to a theory predicting paranormal Psi effects. Our argument, taken together with the lack of scientifically valid confirmation of paranormal Psi effects such as telekinesis, imply that Stapp’s model does not have the potential to assist neuroscientists in resolving the mind-brain puzzle. NeuroQuantology | September 2012 | Volume 10 | Issue 3 | Page 374-388

Erich Joos