I'm writing a paper on the relationship between quantum coherence, electromagnetic fields and consciousness. Because I'm depressed and need some inspiration, I thought it could be fun to share the first section and get your responses. Those knowledgeable in physics or neuroscience will probably find it to be a wild trip. Anyways...


Quantum Coherence and the Brain

Historically, as it became apparent that our brains are the primary seat of awareness, comprised of around 100 billion cells which interact by way of 100 trillion connections for transmitting electrical signals, mystery surrounding the explanatory gap between matter and mind deepened. This conceptual gap can be generalized as a couple of core issues. The combination problem refers to uncertainty associated with how a vast quantity of separate components integrates to produce the seemingly indivisible and fluid qualities of subjective perception. More enigmatic still is how a mechanistic system of electrical signaling mediated by voltage gradients and chemical concentrations can be this intimately involved in generating a perceptual medium of colors, shapes, textures, thoughts, feelings, etc. which manifests so distinctly from the composition of physical matter as we know it. For centuries it has seemed as if physiological and conscious substance are incompatible domains, but science has made such great strides in the 21st century that it is finally possible to outline preliminaries of a plausible theory describing the connection between matter and mind. Accomplishing these initial steps was the goal of this paper.

The key to explaining linkage of consciousness with the brain in a comprehensive way, from the cellular to organwide scale, is forming a solid picture of the basic physics involved, and this requires understanding quantum properties of neuronal tissue. Electromagnetic energy transfer between charged particles, electric field influences on the magnetism of atoms and molecules, and substance of awareness to the extent that it emerges from brain function are all at base tied to quantum processes.
Three main quantum phenomena must be considered in this context. Wave/particle duality permits energy to flow amongst or through cellular structures and solutions as wavelike currents even when these structures are composed of chemically stable particles with well-defined shapes and sizes. Quantum superposition allows relatively wavelike electromagnetic radiation to extensively blend into hybrid structures such as colors of the visible spectrum. Superposition can occur between atoms to a more limited degree, and I hypothesize that EM radiation superpositions with atoms when it flows through them, in addition to the spectral signatures created by atomic orbitals while fully absorbing or emitting light as photons of specific energy. This means that matter essentially consists of atomic nodes within photonic fields, all more or less cohering as an extremely complex and heterogeneous breadth of energy density. Entanglement is the name given to a dynamic by which constituents of these fields, specifically subatomic particles such as photons, electrons and nucleons, can synchronize in a near-instantaneous way. To this point entanglement is modeled only probabilistically, so statistically significant relationships are observed between large quantities of particles, relatively more wavelike or particlelike, as correlations of for instance spin among electrons or phase among photons. Experiments with entanglement suggest that it propagates faster than light across many kilometers and can even happen in a retroactive manner, presumably as a consequence of what are termed “nonlocal” forces still shrouded in mystery.

The way subatomic waves and particles superposition and entangle within energy fields is called “quantum coherence”. Since photons, electrons and nucleons all have wavelike properties, they are commonly thought of as wavicles. At the macroatomic scale, at least on Earth, atomic wavicles form agglomerations buzzing with an energy that is typically heterogeneous enough to make the presence of destructive interference an intrinsic aspect of the baseline condition. Thus, optically inspectable particles for instance tend to behave classically, as relatively inert masses whose charges balance and which fluctuate thermodynamically, in line with the traditional concept of deterministic space and time. But though thermodynamism, the state of “decoherence”, exists as a sort of structural chassis for Earthbound matter and human physiology, the environment is still in essence subatomic, so decoherence can coexist with small or large durations and expanses of coherence. Postulating in a general sense how quantum coherence coordinates with the brain’s electrical features is the first step in fashioning a theoretical account of the interface between physiology and mind.


Influence of Quantum Coherence on the Electromagnetic Mechanisms of Neurons

The neuron’s axon is a bodily structure where coherence plays an important role. Textbook introductions describe how voltage gradients are maintained by Na+ and K+ ion concentration differentials across the axon’s cell membrane, modulated via selective diffusion through ion channels. But lengthwise voltage gradients within the axon might be even more vital to action potentials, and quantum coherence in aqueous solution drives this mechanism of near-instantaneous jumping between membrane nodes.

Na+ ions are most concentrated outside the axon’s cell membrane, and K+ ions inside. The myelin sheath, an insulating layer of fat enveloping the axon that increases conductance speed, is punctuated by a node of Ranvier at regular intervals, where voltage-gated Na+ channels are located. The next region of cellular space on an action potential’s path is the paranode, where myelin attaches to the cell membrane. Once the paranode has been traversed, the juxtaparanode is reached, where voltage-gated K+ channels are located. Then comes the majority of an axon’s internodal space, with K+ leakage channels and sodium-potassium pumps to help restore ion gradients of the resting potential between signal transmittances. This procession arrives at a juxtaparanode and then paranode on the next node of Ranvier’s opposite side, after which Na+ influx is once again initiated, continuing the chain reaction beyond numerous nodes to the synaptic cleft [2].

This anatomy of the neuron has been discerned with enough specificity that a fairly certain hypothesis can be made as to its mechanisms. During an action potential, Na+ enters the axon at a node of Ranvier as stimulated by the change in voltage called depolarization. Voltage-gated K+ channels at the juxtaparanode almost immediately begin letting K+ diffuse out of the axon. The differential between increasingly positive charge at the node of Ranvier and decreasingly positive charge at the juxtaparanode accelerates electromagnetic energy transmittance, an excess force that propels the signal through internodal space. At this point, the next juxtaparanode has not been completely repolarized, and this less positive center of charge renews acceleration of electromagnetic energy towards the next node of Ranvier, which then depolarizes. Because the phenomenon, once initiated, probably involves decelerative inertia across space when charge is constant, I provisionally named this the “ebb effect”. What follows is a description of the mechanism in more structural detail.

An axon’s internal solution is made up mostly of water molecules and positive ions. H2O is of course a polar molecule, with its hydrogen atoms being relatively negative and the oxygen atom relatively positive, bent somewhat at the fulcrum. A solvation shell of water molecules forms around each Na+ and K+ ion, with more negative poles of H2O aligned on the shell’s inner surface and more positive poles facing outward. Thus, the solution contains a complex contour of more and less positive charges, with “positive” in this case being a relative concept, for these charges all consist in negatively charged electron wavicle structure. Displaceable electron energy that is more concentrated in a particular region of space, as “negative” polarity, tends to move towards regions of less concentration or “positive” polarity, and this effectuates a dynamic equilibrium of charge distribution as atoms diffuse around.

When Na+ enters the axon at a node of Ranvier, average electron energy concentration decreases in that region, drawing nearby electron energy towards it in what is basically a lengthwise voltage gradient. As electron energy shifts towards Na+, the energy concentration of adjacent regions reduces, in turn exerting a voltage effect on regions that are more remote from the Na+ increase, eventually reaching the paranode and then juxtaparanode. The current of electrical energy is moving towards Na+ increase, but its propagation begins adjacent to Na+ and then travels outward as a wavefront into successively distant regions. Because the wavefront spreads in all directions through solution, its strength attenuates with distance, similar to how the intensity of a light wave diminishes as it strays from its source, except electron energy has much greater mass than light and so its shrinking rate of motion bears more resemblance to the behavior of a classical wave, with something like inertial resistance. This is in essence the transition from a state of dynamic equilibrium amongst electron wavicles which causes them to interfere, mitigating quantum coherence or conversely instating decoherence in some measure over largish regions of space, and into a more directional coherence that rapidly flows towards more positive charge, starting in adjacent regions and cascading outward.

As the wavefront shifts away from higher Na+ concentrations at the node of Ranvier, it is accompanied by an electromagnetic field fluctuation linked to the flow of electric current out of successively more distal regions of solution and towards the node. When electromagnetic field fluctuation reaches voltage-gated K+ channels at the juxtaparanode, K+ is triggered to flow out of the axon, instigating an even greater disparity in charge, electrical potential, strength of lengthwise voltage. This accelerates electric current towards the node of Ranvier, and the wavefront which is coupled to it along with a companion electromagnetic field fluctuation likewise accelerate in the opposite direction. Force exacted at the juxtaparanode by increase in strength of the lengthwise voltage gradient overcomes deceleration from inertia as the wavefront spreads through the rest of internodal space. In an instant, the wavefront’s electromagnetic field fluctuation reaches the next node of Ranvier, prompting Na+ to flow in and renewing the sequence.

The mechanism is similar in dendrites, except that myelin is not present between nodes where voltage-gated Na+ channels are located, and inward diffusion of Cl- ions functions to block signal transmission. EPSPs (excitatory postsynaptic potentials) from Na+ influx happen in distal regions of the dendrite, while IPSPs (inhibitory postsynaptic potentials) from Cl- influx occur proximal to dendrite/soma junctions so less negative ions are required to prevent a dendritic potential from crossing the soma (cell body) and reaching the junction between axon and soma, called the axon hillock, where an action potential initiates. Whether the electrical potentials of at least several dendrites per neuron are strong enough to stimulate an action potential is determined by cumulative EPSPs and IPSPs.

Improbability of explaining neuron function without reference to near-instantaneous currents of quantum coherence provides convincing evidence that electrons exist as diffuse waves filling the atom rather than more localized particles. Identifying electromagnetic field fluctuations, called LFPs (local field potentials), as the mechanism by which atoms exert somewhat remote effects to activate voltage-gated ion channels implies a cohesive picture of how extracellular phenomena such as the brain’s macroscopic electric field are impacted by and can reciprocally impact intracellular functions. EM fields in the brain are not an epiphenomenon, but rather central to the mechanisms of even individual neurons. The inquiry then seems to be whether a macroscopic EM field is somehow responsible for holism of consciousness.


Yay!