Open AccessBook
Consciousness In The Universe
Stuart R. Hameroff,Roger Penrose +1 more
- 29 Aug 2011
TL;DR: The proposed Orch OR suggests that there is a connection between the brain's biomolecular processes and the basic structure of the universe, and it is concluded that consciousness plays an intrinsic role in the universe.
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Abstract: The nature of consciousness, the mechanism by which it occurs in the brain, and its ultimate place in the universe are unknown. We proposed in the mid 1990's that consciousness depends on biologically 'orchestrated' coherent quantum processes in collections of microtubules within brain neurons, that these quantum processes correlate with, and regulate, neuronal synaptic and membrane activity, and that the continuous Schrodinger evolution of each such process terminates in accordance with the specific Diosi-Penrose (DP) scheme of 'objective reduction' ('OR') of the quantum state. This orchestrated OR activity ('Orch OR') is taken to result in moments of conscious awareness and/or choice. The DP form of OR is related to the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and space-time geometry, so Orch OR suggests that there is a connection between the brain's biomolecular processes and the basic structure of the universe. Here we review Orch OR in light of criticisms and developments in quantum biology, neuroscience, physics and cosmology. We also introduce a novel suggestion of 'beat frequencies' of faster microtubule vibrations as a possible source of the observed electro-encephalographic ('EEG') correlates of consciousness. We conclude that consciousness plays an intrinsic role in the universe.
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Citations
Minimal physicalism as a scale-free substrate for cognition and consciousness.
TL;DR: In this paper, a scale-free characterization of consciousness and cognition that regards basal systems, including synthetic constructs, as informative about the structure and function of experience in more complex systems and offering distinct advantages for experimental manipulation is presented.
Consciousness as a Physical Process Caused by the Organization of Energy in the Brain
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that brain function is a product of the organization of actualized differences of motion and tension in the brain, and that the brain can be represented as a set of forces and work.
'Orch OR' is the most complete, and most easily falsifiable theory of consciousness.
TL;DR: The ‘Orch OR’ theory attributes consciousness to quantum computations in microtubules inside brain neurons, resulting in sequences of Orch OR moments with orchestrated conscious experience (metaphorically more like music than computation).
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Oxidative species-induced excitonic transport in tubulin aromatic networks: Potential implications for neurodegenerative disease.
TL;DR: In this paper, it is shown that tubulin polymers can feasibly absorb and channel these photoexcitations via resonance energy transfer, on the order of dendritic length scales and neuronal fine structure.
Theoretical models of consciousness: A scoping review
Davide Sattin,Francesca Giulia Magnani,Laura Bartesaghi,Milena Caputo,Andrea Fittipaldo,Martina Cacciatore,Mario Picozzi,Matilde Leonardi +7 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors collected data on the various theories of consciousness published between 2007-2017 and to synthesize them to provide a general overview of this topic and developed a thematic grid called the dimensional model, which qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes how each article, related to one specific theory, debates/analyzes a specific issue.
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William James
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