Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
István Bókkon, Birendra N. Mallick, Jack A Tuszynski
42 citations
Seeing brilliant lights during near-death experiences may arise from a surge of bioluminescent biophotons in the brain when blood flow returns after oxygen deprivation. The authors propose that reperfusion triggers an overproduction of free radicals and excited molecules, leading to a transient increase in biophoton emission within retinotopic visual areas. If this emission exceeds a threshold, the brain interprets the intrinsic photons as external light, creating the perception of brilliant lights. The article reviews experimental studies that support this concept and links the idea to phosphenes, dream-like imagery during REM sleep, and self-consciousness possibly involving low-energy quantum entanglements. It is presented as a discussion piece, not a definitive explanation.
Bio Systems
January 1, 2026
Marco Cavaglià, Jack A Tuszynski
Conscious experience may depend on more than just neuronal circuits. This paper proposes that lipid membranes, vicinal water, and cerebrospinal fluid together form a coherent substrate capable of holographic information encoding and coupling with both endogenous and exogenous electromagnetic fields. The authors present four postulates: the membrane acts as a holographic plate, water serves as a coherence medium, there is a holographic read-write mechanism, and the system couples to environmental fields. A dual-layer model integrating membrane-water-CSF with electromagnetic fields is described, and the framework is connected to existing theories. Falsifiable experimental strategies and metrics are outlined.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2026
Josh Roeloffs, Jack A Tuszynski
A proposed framework explains how the brain switches between fast, intuitive (System 1) and slow, analytical (System 2) thinking. Self-referential evaluative monitoring acts as a biological switch, modulating microtubule-mediated quantum coherence through electromagnetic boundary conditions. The causal chain involves locus coeruleus-norepinephrine regulation of the default mode network, electromagnetic patterns from self-evaluation, and calcium-mediated changes to microtubule electrostatic environments. Quantum coherence enables parallel exploration while classical processing provides stability; evolution would have selected mechanisms balancing these demands. Anesthetics disrupt energy-threshold-dependent coherent processes in microtubules, consistent with their effects. Testable predictions relate default mode network activity, flow states, insight, and confidence to shifts along the quantum-classical processing spectrum.
Bio Systems
August 1, 2024
Akihiro Nishiyama, Shigenori Tanaka, Jack A Tuszynski
A control theory for manipulating holograms in Quantum Brain Dynamics (QBD) is proposed, linking to subjective experiences (qualia). The theory extends QBD to a hierarchical model covering the neocortex and uses reservoir computing or morphological computation to manipulate hologram waveforms. Numerical simulations show convergence to target waveforms via external electric fields in a QBD hierarchy. The approach could be applied to non-invasive neuronal stimulation and to test whether the brain uses holographic language. If confirmed, the theory might enable virtual reality devices that non-invasively manipulate qualia from the five senses, potentially transmitting information directly into the brain without sensory organs.
Journal of Integrative Neuroscience
December 30, 2020
Jack A Tuszynski
Quantum physics, originally developed to explain early 20th-century experiments, now provides a framework for molecular bonds via quantum chemistry and is being applied to biological phenomena such as photosynthesis and bird navigation. The quantum metabolism theory extends these concepts to explain allometric scaling laws in physiology. The paper also examines whether quantum physics can help understand consciousness, a topic some researchers consider science's last frontier while others deem it outside science. It discusses the Orch OR theory and other hypotheses that aim to provide a scientific basis for consciousness, evaluating their merits and potential extensions.
Bio Systems
November 1, 2018
Nadezhda Barvitenko, Alfons Lawen, Muhammad Aslam et al.
A theoretical analysis proposes that the complex of the plasma membrane and the microtubule-based cytoskeleton acts as a system for transmitting, storing, and processing information in living cells. The work integrates three existing theories: the Penrose-Hameroff theory of consciousness (Orchestrated Objective Reduction), the centrosome as a reference system for constructing a 3D cell map, and the Heimburg-Jackson model of nerve pulse propagation as soliton-like electro-mechanical waves. These ideas together offer a qualitative model for decision-making processes during cell differentiation, paving the way for live-cell observation of information processing by the microtubule-based cytoskeleton and cell fate decisions.
arXiv Preprint Archive
August 23, 2017
Parisa Zarkeshian, Sourabh Kumar, Jack A Tuszynski et al.
Some unanswered questions about consciousness might be explained by new physical mechanisms. Biophotons have been discovered in the brain, raising the possibility that neurons communicate using light in addition to electro-chemical signals. Such photonic communication would require waveguides. This review examines a proposal that myelinated axons could act as photonic waveguides, modeling light transmission through them with realistic imperfections and suggesting experiments to test the idea. Potential connections to quantum biology are also discussed.
Medical Hypotheses
April 1, 2017
Lucio Tonello, Massimo Cocchi, Fabio Gabrielli et al.
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.
Journal of Integrative Neuroscience
September 1, 2015
Lucio Tonello, Massimo Cocchi, Fabio Gabrielli et al.
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.
Journal of Integrative Neuroscience
June 1, 2014
Stuart Hameroff, Travis J A Craddock, Jack A Tuszynski
Quantum physics, originally developed for inanimate matter, is increasingly applied to biology and consciousness studies. Individual biological phenomena such as photosynthesis and bird navigation have been analyzed using quantum methods, building conceptual foundations for quantum biology. Several proposals, especially the Orch OR hypothesis, suggest microtubules as the substrate for conscious processes based on quantum coherence and entanglement. Quantum Metabolism, quantum processes in ion channels, and quantum effects in sensory stimulation are also discussed. The paper reviews challenges and merits of quantum consciousness approaches and their potential extensions.