A new study suggests that quantum entanglement may play a role in brain activity, potentially offering insights into the mystery of consciousness.
Physicists Zefei Liu and Yong-Cong Chen from Shanghai University, along with biomedical engineer Ping Ao from Sichuan University, propose that entangled photons emitted by carbon-hydrogen bonds in nerve cell insulation could synchronise brain circuits.
The idea challenges the conventional view that quantum effects are irrelevant at the scale of brain functions. The researchers suggest that the fatty myelin sheath around nerve cell axons could amplify infrared photons, leading to the emission of pairs of correlated photons.
These entangled photons might influence biochemical processes in the brain, aiding in the synchronisation of neural activity.
This theory builds on the controversial Penrose-Hameroff ‘orchestrated-objective reduction’ model, which suggests that cytoskeleton tubules in neurons act like a quantum computer, influencing thought processes. While still speculative, the study prompts a reevaluation of the potential role of quantum mechanics in brain function.
