Mainstream neuropsychiatry faces limitations, and quantum theories of mind, brain, and consciousness offer a paradigm shift but lack experimental support and deviate radically from current views. A proposal integrates experimental neuroscience with quantum models by linking the stream of consciousness to Gamma Synchrony (GS) observed in EEG data. In this framework, unipolar depression may involve an altered stream of consciousness with increased power. This approach could extend to psychopathology generally, potentially improving diagnostics and therapeutics in neuropsychiatry.
Cell membrane fatty acids (FAs) in neurons and platelets may be linked to psychopathologies through their connection to membrane dynamics and cytoskeleton dynamics, particularly microtubules (MTs). The quantum model of Craddock et al. (2014) proposes that MTs support collective quantum coherent excitations in aromatic groups of tryptophan residues, acting as a sub-nanosecond clocking mechanism. Such excitations, induced by photons and observed in light-harvesting complexes in plants and bacteria, suggest quantum processes in biology. Intra-cellular photons could arise from membrane lipid peroxidation, linking FA profile to bio-photon emission. The model proposes two new roles for serotonin: as an antioxidant counterbalancing FA oxidative effects, and in quantum interactions with MTs, similar to anesthetics and psychoactive compounds. FA profile could indirectly measure serotonin levels.