Application of the Catecholaminergic Neuron Electron Transport (CNET) Physical Substrate for Consciousness and Action Selection to Integrated Information Theory

Rourk, Christopher

doi:10.3390/e24010091

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Various candidates (e.g. microtubules (10), catecholaminergic neurotransmission (in a possible sense) (11), Integrated Information Theory ( 7)) have been proposed. We have no specific suggestion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum Measurements and Their Place in Nature

Broka¹

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A variant of the von Neumann-Wigner Interpretation is proposed. Problems arising from the quantum Zeno effect are addressed as we have described previously. We do, however, offer some new, and perhaps unexpected observations. We are accustomed to thinking of wave function collapse as occurring consequent to laboratory measurements. We speculate that, whatever physical correlate of consciousness exists within the brain, it is quantum mechanical in the sense that a brain, left to itself, would eventually decohere into a state no longer compatible with its conscious functioning. Wave function collapse returns it to a state compatible with consciousness. Indeed, this may be its important reason for occurring. A universe without it simply could not play host to conscious brains. The fact that it also prevents us from encountering "absurd" situations in the laboratory is merely a fortunate dividend. Whenever a quantum measurement is made the universe's future history splits into a number of possibilities. This number may be very large or infinite. And we believe consciousness plays a vital role in this happening. A "conscious" universe where quantum measurements are being made allows for an enormous number of equally acceptable world-histories. An "unconscious" one, always evolving in a unitary fashion, allows for only one. If we assume that the decision as to which worldhistory is the real one (i.e. this one) is made at random we see that the universe is overwhelmingly more likely to be "conscious" than not.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum Measurements and Their Place in Nature

Broka¹

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The brain would use a different hybrid computing system with different quantum mechanisms than bacterial flagellum. Rather than the widespread, discrete, quantum biological electron and proton tunneling events that may occur in proteins throughout the brain [6], a hypothesized quantum mechanical electron tunneling mechanism in catecholaminergic neurons has been proposed as part of a hybrid biological computer that could integrate information through electron tunneling in the protein ferritin to compute and implement action selection [7]. There is evidence that this catecholaminergic neuron electron transport (CNET) mechanism exists based on unusual and unexpected experimental results that were predicted by the CNET hypothesis [8,9].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This recent unexpected and surprising discovery in the field of neurosience contradicts the earlier belief that dopamine neurons do not code movement. IIT could be extended not only to simple hybrid biological computers like bacteria but also to more complex hybrid biological computers like the hypothesized CNET action selection mechanism and these complex neurons, to evaluate its relationship to consciousness [7].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Comment on Albantakis et al. Computing the Integrated Information of a Quantum Mechanism. Entropy 2023, 25, 449

Rourk

2023

Entropy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Integrated information theory (IIT) is a powerful tool that provides a framework for evaluating consciousness, whether in the human brain or in other systems. In Computing the Integrated Information of a Quantum Mechanism, the authors extend IIT from digital gates to a quantum CNOT logic gate, and while they explicitly distinguish the analysis from quantum theories of consciousness, they nonetheless provide an analytical road map for extending IIT not only to other quantum mechanisms but also to hybrid computing structures like the brain. This comment provides additional information relating to an adiabatic quantum mechanical energy routing mechanism that is part of a hybrid biological computer that provides an action selection mechanism, which has been hypothesized to exist in the human brain and for which predicted evidence has been subsequently observed, and it hopes to motivate the further evaluation and extension of IIT not only to that hypothesized mechanism but also to other hybrid biological computers.

show abstract