Distributed Cognition, Microtubules, and the Emergence of Phenomenal Consciousness: A Multi-Scale Dynamical Framework Integrating Quantum Darwinism, Self-Organised Criticality, and Developmental Neuroscience
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) March 30, 2026 Rayan Dylan Hamouda
A theoretical framework proposes that microtubules, protein structures inside all eukaryotic cells, process information through quantum-coherent fractal oscillations, forming a distributed, non-conscious form of cognition (Level 2) that is distinct from phenomenal consciousness (Level 3). The transition from quantum to classical behavior in microtubule networks is explained by Quantum Darwinism, not gravitational collapse. The stable phenomenal self emerges between ages 3 and 7 when maturing thalamo-cortical loops integrate with this quantum substrate under three necessary and simultaneous conditions: a self-organized critical branching parameter near 1, a recursive self-modeling depth above a threshold, and a Quantum Darwinist pointer-state redundancy above a threshold. The framework extends quantum-coordinated information processing to all biological subsystems while maintaining organ-internal independence.