MINERVA v0.3: A Unified Quantum Mechanism for Conscious Experience via Microtubule Phonon Driving and Ephaptic Field Coupling
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) April 14, 2026 Aditya Tiwari
A new hypothesis called MINERVA v0.3 proposes that consciousness arises from quantum events in microtubules within brain cells. It suggests that energy from GTP hydrolysis creates sound-like waves (phonons) in microtubules, which form standing wave nodes that trigger objective reduction events. These events are coupled through the brain's own electromagnetic fields, and conscious experience is the interference pattern of millions of such events across the cortex. The hypothesis integrates four independent experimental findings and makes a specific, testable prediction: a terahertz-frequency phonon signal occurring 10 nanoseconds before these events. An experimental protocol is outlined.