87
Quantum Biology to Quantum Consciousness
basic idea is to investigate if there are other quantum network architectures that could be operating
in the brain. First of all, quantum entanglement in such a network could provide at least a partial
answer to the binding problem of consciousness allowing for a delocalised quantum state involving
many neurons. This requires a thorough understanding of quantum networks. It is worth emphasising that quantum networks may lead to quantum memories, whereby entangled states store information such as visual inputs. Moreover, quantum networks could generate communication channels
that would transport information and process it performing complex operations. Quantum computation in the brain (Litt et al., 2006) would surely be benefcial from an evolutionary standpoint, and
biology has had 4 billion years to solve the decoherence problem.
Recently, an interesting proposal was put forward suggesting direct involvement of nuclear
spin in long-lived quantum states attributed to consciousness in the human brain (Fisher, 2017).
However, several challenging issues remain to be addressed. First of all, due to thermal fuctuations, a magnetic feld of suffcient strength would be required to prepare the spin system in a pure
enough state. On the other hand, there are no naturally occurring large magnetic felds and we
also know that strong magnetic felds such as in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines do
not have a signifcant effect on the state of consciousness of the person subjected to MRI scans.
Regarding quantum communication channels, photon emission and absorption is the best candidate mechanism for such phenomena. Biophotonics is an emerging feld in spite of its long history
of false starts and intermittent periods of dormancy. A recent review (Cifra and Pospíšil, 2014)
summarises the landscape in this feld, emphasising a relatively narrow range of wavelengths playing a role in biophotonics, namely between 350 and 1,300 nm. The generation of photons inside
living cells is mainly related to recombination of reactive oxygen species. It is also interesting
to consider signal amplifcation and transmission over macroscopic distances along axons and
dendrites of neurons. The tenuous connection between quantum biology, consciousness and electromagnetic felds, if properly supported by precise experimental investigations, could become
a nexus for rigorous explorations of how our brain operates beyond the confnes of conventional
neuroscience.
Understanding the biological basis for sustained quantum coherent superposition and entanglement would not only help solve the enigmatic features of consciousness, but also enable future
quantum information technologies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author acknowledges funding support for his research from NSERC (Canada).
REFERENCES
Albrecht-Buehler, G. (1992) Rudimentary form of cellular “vision”. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 89:
8288–8292.
Beck, F. and Eccles, J.C. (1992) Quantum aspects of brain activity and the role of consciousness. Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 89: 11357–11361.
Blankenship, G.R. and Engel, G.S. (2010) Long-lived quantum coherence in photosynthetic complexes at
physiological temperature. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 107(29): 12766–12770.
Brookes, J.C., Hartoutsiou, F., Horsfeld, A.P., Turin, L., and Stoneham, A.M. (2007) Could humans recognize
odor by phonon assisted tunneling? Phys. Rev. Lett. 98(3): 038101.
Cifra, M. and Pospíšil, P. (2014) Ultra-weak photon emission from biological samples: Defnition, mechanisms, properties, detection and applications. J. Photochem. Photobiol. B Biol. 139: 2–10.
Engel, G.S., Calhoun, T.R., Read, E.L., Ahn, T.K., Mancal, T., Cheng, Y.C., Blankenship, R.E. and Fleming,
G.R. (2007) Evidence for wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence in photosynthetic systems. Nature 446(7137): 782–786.
Fisher, M.P. (2017) Are we quantum computers, or merely clever robots. Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 31(07): 1743001.
Hagan, S., Hameroff, S.R., and Tuszynski, J.A. (2002) Quantum computation in brain microtubules:
Decoherence and biological feasibility. Phys. Rev. E 65(61901): 1–10.
Quantum Biology to Quantum Consciousness
basic idea is to investigate if there are other quantum network architectures that could be operating
in the brain. First of all, quantum entanglement in such a network could provide at least a partial
answer to the binding problem of consciousness allowing for a delocalised quantum state involving
many neurons. This requires a thorough understanding of quantum networks. It is worth emphasising that quantum networks may lead to quantum memories, whereby entangled states store information such as visual inputs. Moreover, quantum networks could generate communication channels
that would transport information and process it performing complex operations. Quantum computation in the brain (Litt et al., 2006) would surely be benefcial from an evolutionary standpoint, and
biology has had 4 billion years to solve the decoherence problem.
Recently, an interesting proposal was put forward suggesting direct involvement of nuclear
spin in long-lived quantum states attributed to consciousness in the human brain (Fisher, 2017).
However, several challenging issues remain to be addressed. First of all, due to thermal fuctuations, a magnetic feld of suffcient strength would be required to prepare the spin system in a pure
enough state. On the other hand, there are no naturally occurring large magnetic felds and we
also know that strong magnetic felds such as in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines do
not have a signifcant effect on the state of consciousness of the person subjected to MRI scans.
Regarding quantum communication channels, photon emission and absorption is the best candidate mechanism for such phenomena. Biophotonics is an emerging feld in spite of its long history
of false starts and intermittent periods of dormancy. A recent review (Cifra and Pospíšil, 2014)
summarises the landscape in this feld, emphasising a relatively narrow range of wavelengths playing a role in biophotonics, namely between 350 and 1,300 nm. The generation of photons inside
living cells is mainly related to recombination of reactive oxygen species. It is also interesting
to consider signal amplifcation and transmission over macroscopic distances along axons and
dendrites of neurons. The tenuous connection between quantum biology, consciousness and electromagnetic felds, if properly supported by precise experimental investigations, could become
a nexus for rigorous explorations of how our brain operates beyond the confnes of conventional
neuroscience.
Understanding the biological basis for sustained quantum coherent superposition and entanglement would not only help solve the enigmatic features of consciousness, but also enable future
quantum information technologies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author acknowledges funding support for his research from NSERC (Canada).
REFERENCES
Albrecht-Buehler, G. (1992) Rudimentary form of cellular “vision”. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 89:
8288–8292.
Beck, F. and Eccles, J.C. (1992) Quantum aspects of brain activity and the role of consciousness. Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 89: 11357–11361.
Blankenship, G.R. and Engel, G.S. (2010) Long-lived quantum coherence in photosynthetic complexes at
physiological temperature. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 107(29): 12766–12770.
Brookes, J.C., Hartoutsiou, F., Horsfeld, A.P., Turin, L., and Stoneham, A.M. (2007) Could humans recognize
odor by phonon assisted tunneling? Phys. Rev. Lett. 98(3): 038101.
Cifra, M. and Pospíšil, P. (2014) Ultra-weak photon emission from biological samples: Defnition, mechanisms, properties, detection and applications. J. Photochem. Photobiol. B Biol. 139: 2–10.
Engel, G.S., Calhoun, T.R., Read, E.L., Ahn, T.K., Mancal, T., Cheng, Y.C., Blankenship, R.E. and Fleming,
G.R. (2007) Evidence for wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence in photosynthetic systems. Nature 446(7137): 782–786.
Fisher, M.P. (2017) Are we quantum computers, or merely clever robots. Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 31(07): 1743001.
Hagan, S., Hameroff, S.R., and Tuszynski, J.A. (2002) Quantum computation in brain microtubules:
Decoherence and biological feasibility. Phys. Rev. E 65(61901): 1–10.