Medical Hypotheses
August 23, 2019
Andreja Vujanac, I. Srejovic, V. Zivkovic et al.
Focused attention may cause a wave function collapse in a double-slit diffraction experiment, and quantum entanglement between the brain and an external quantum system appears possible. In a study with 26 participants, results showed significant increases in corpuscular properties of the electromagnetic wave and significant quantum entanglement between the brain and the double-slit system. The findings also suggest a connection between chaotic dynamics of electroencephalographic signals and uncertainty in the physical system due to focused attention. The state of concentrated attention was highest during the first several seconds, and a possible backward time referral effect of cognitive evoked potential P300 was hypothesized.
Medical Hypotheses
April 1, 2019
Fredric Schiffer
Subjectivity—the first-person quality of experience—remains unexplained by neuroscience, which only describes its neural correlates. A hypothesis is proposed that undiscovered quantum fields, distinct from known fields, induce subjectivity when they interact with specific brain information. These fields would emit quantum particles that exert force on brain patterns conveying meaning, thereby generating experience. Most experience is non-conscious, continuously informing brain structure and behavior, while only intermittently becoming conscious. The article explores how non-conscious experience relates to the self and how it may become conscious, offering support and directions for testing this hypothesis, along with potential clinical applications in psychology.
Medical Hypotheses
March 26, 2019
J. Lake
Near-death experiences (NDEs) likely arose from a pre-adaptation that allowed early humans to have self-reflective awareness and experience specialized states of consciousness, enabling flexible responses to life-threatening situations. This predisposition probably originated and persists through multi-factorial biological, social, and symbolic processes, shaped by direct, indirect, or neutral selection. The paper reviews evolutionary models, neural mechanisms including limbic system and neocortex integration, and epigenetic inheritance, arguing that NDEs are a higher cognitive trait influenced by complex dynamic systems. It contrasts NDEs with similar experiences in dreams and trance, and calls for improved methodology and field studies to clarify genetic, epigenetic, and social contributions.
Medical Hypotheses
March 1, 2019
Jahahreeh Finley
The neural correlates of consciousness and how general anesthetics cause loss of consciousness remain poorly understood. General anesthetics like propofol and inhalational agents induce loss of consciousness partly by potentiating chloride influx through the GABAA receptor, leading to neural inhibition. These agents also cause paradoxical excitation at low doses. AMPK, a kinase activated by cellular stress such as increases in calcium and reactive oxygen species, is found throughout the mammalian brain. Neurotransmitters that promote wakefulness and arousal activate AMPK, as do several general anesthetics and compounds that accelerate emergence from anesthesia. The authors propose that cellular stress-induced AMPK activation links wakefulness, arousal, and consciousness with paradoxical excitation and accelerated emergence from anesthesia. AMPK activation may also enhance brain repair and promote recovery from disorders of consciousness.
Medical Hypotheses
April 1, 2018
Majid Beshkar
Qualia—the subjective, felt qualities of experience—are proposed to be self-organized structures built by exported entropy. Their subjectivity arises because entropy-decreasing phenomena cannot be observed physically. This speculative account draws on thermodynamics to address two central questions in philosophy of mind: what qualia are and why they are private.
Medical Hypotheses
July 1, 2017
E Garcia-Rill
The pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), part of the brain's reticular activating system, generates gamma band (∼40 Hz) oscillations through intrinsic membrane properties and electrical coupling. If not all PPN neurons fire at every oscillation peak, the net firing frequency drops: firing at every second peak yields ∼20 Hz, every fourth peak ∼10 Hz. Below 10 Hz the system is essentially asleep. This implies that waking occurs in discrete steps—from ∼10 Hz to ∼20 Hz to ∼30 Hz to ∼40 Hz—as more neurons are recruited to fire at oscillation peaks, rather than as a gradual linear increase. Falling asleep would follow a similar stepwise pattern.
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.
Medical Hypotheses
September 1, 2016
Stephen L Thaler
A theoretical paper proposes that the brain's creative process mirrors the behavior of two interacting artificial neural networks, where one generates random activation patterns (ideas) and the other evaluates them. The system cycles between high synaptic perturbation (chaos, idea incubation) and low perturbation (stability, idea reinforcement). Volume neurotransmitter release in the cortex is proposed as the biological source of these fluctuations, affecting both generative and evaluative networks. The authors hypothesize that creativity and certain psychopathologies share the same underlying neurodynamics, with extremes in the chaotic phase being problematic. This theory suggests that controlling the balance of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters could potentially boost creativity or treat related disorders.
Medical Hypotheses
February 1, 2016
Ming-Chyi Huang, Lian-Yu Chen, Chih-Ken Chen et al.
Ketamine, a derivative of phencyclidine (PCP), has dissociative, analgesic, and psychedelic properties and is increasingly used recreationally. Preclinical studies show its reinforcing effects and that long-term abuse leads to delayed, persistent upregulation of the dopamine system. Concerns exist about its addiction liability, but no effective pharmacotherapy is available for treatment-seeking abusers. Limited evidence suggests lamotrigine, which inhibits glutamate release, reduces cocaine craving. The authors propose lamotrigine may help manage ketamine use disorder and report one case where craving and use greatly reduced after taking lamotrigine. Future clinical trials are needed to understand lamotrigine's benefits.
Medical Hypotheses
December 1, 2014
Baland Jalal, Vilayanur S. Ramachandran
Sleep paralysis involves temporary motor paralysis while awake, often accompanied by hallucinations of a menacing shadowy intruder in the bedroom. This paper proposes that such hallucinations arise from a functional disturbance in the right parietal cortex, specifically the temporoparietal junction, which processes body and self. The perceived intruder may be a hallucinated projection of the brain's internal body image (homunculus) from the right superior parietal lobule. The authors suggest testing this by studying individuals with conditions like apotemnophilia or anorexia nervosa, who may have irregularities in their internal body image, to see if their hallucinations mirror those irregularities. If confirmed, this neurological explanation could offer relief to those who experience sleep paralysis and counter supernatural cultural interpretations.
Medical Hypotheses
March 1, 2014
Mauro W. Zappaterra, Lysander Jim, Sanjog Pangarkar
Chronic pain is often treated with a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial approach that addresses biological, psychological, and social factors, and such interventions have been shown to improve symptoms. However, the mechanisms behind pain relief remain unclear. Using the case of Mr. S, who experienced complete pain resolution after a lucid dream following two years of biopsychosocial treatment, the authors propose that central nervous system reorganization (neural plasticity) may be a mechanism for therapeutic benefit, potentially setting a neural framework for healing.
Medical Hypotheses
December 1, 2013
James M Robertson
Consciousness and explicit memory storage may depend on a three-dimensional matrix formed by protoplasmic astrocytes in the brain. Recent anatomical and physiological evidence shows that individual astrocytes occupy separate, non-overlapping tessellating domains that tile cortical gray matter. Each domain encompasses many thousands of synapses, and astrocytes respond to neural activity as rapidly as neurons do, distinguishing inputs from different pathways. Astrocytes in sensory cortex can discriminate sensory details more finely than surrounding neurons. Domains are interconnected by gap junctions, forming syncytial networks that may extend across the entire neocortex. This matrix is proposed to seamlessly bind attended sensory information and encode explicit memories, with the temporal stream of consciousness arising from sequential neural activity.
Medical Hypotheses
September 1, 2013
Y Auxéméry
A near-death experience (NDE) is an atypical state of consciousness induced by the neuropsychological consequences of a passage near death. These experiences are not psychologically traumatic, never cause flashbacks, and can eliminate the fear of death. Listening to patients who have shared their NDEs has encouraged reevaluation of medical standards, positioning the patient at the center of management decisions. While resuscitation after neurological events risks serious sequelae or prolonged unconsciousness, studies have demonstrated neuronal activity in patients in prolonged comas. Medical teams treat such patients as subjects, speaking to them and about them, rather than acting as if they are not present.
Medical Hypotheses
July 1, 2013
M Coppola, R Mondola
Methoxydine, a dissociative anaesthetic in the arylcyclohexylamine class, pharmacodynamically resembles ketamine, a known rapid-acting antidepressant. Binding assays indicate it is an uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist about as potent as ketamine but less potent than PCP. Unlike ketamine, methoxydine also inhibits reuptake of dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline and acts as an agonist at sigma-1, sigma-2, and opioid receptors. The hypothesis is that methoxydine could produce rapid antidepressant effects in depressed patients at high risk of suicide, including depressed alcoholics.
Medical Hypotheses
October 1, 2012
M Coppola, R Mondola
Methoxetamine, a dissociative anesthetic similar to ketamine, may produce rapid antidepressant effects in patients with resistant and non-resistant unipolar and bipolar depression. Like ketamine, it acts as a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist and dopamine reuptake inhibitor, and also binds to dopamine D2, serotonin 5HT2, muscarinic cholinergic, sigma-1, and opioid mu and k receptors. The hypothesis is that these pharmacodynamic properties could lead to rapid mood improvement, but no empirical results are reported.
Medical Hypotheses
May 1, 2010
Brian Milne
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is widely used for psychiatric conditions but has side effects including memory loss, injury, arrhythmias, and risks from anesthesia. Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is proposed as a potential substitute because it shares some effects with ECT: it induces laughter (described as nature's epileptoid catharsis), produces central sympathetic stimulation, releases endogenous opioid peptides that may have antidepressant properties, and can trigger seizure-like activity. The author argues that nitrous oxide is relatively safe, easy to administer, and could be given in a series of treatments similar to ECT, making it a feasible alternative.
Medical Hypotheses
January 1, 2007
Bruce G Charlton
A personal dream about a comic novel title prompts an inquiry into whether the euphoric 'peak experience' of scientific discovery can be as delusional as a dream. While such elation does not guarantee objective truth—insights must be checked and intoxicants can induce pseudo-profound insights—peak experiences are not irrelevant. They may serve as a personal 'significance alarm' signaling high-quality insight by one's own standards, urging attention and understanding. Their objective value depends on the cognitive quality of the individual's brain. The best approach may be to regard the scientific peak experience as a signal from the self to the self, an auto-administered emotional reward for good thinking.
Medical Hypotheses
January 1, 2006
David W. Orme-Johnson
Regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique is associated with fewer nervous system problems and decreased symptoms of epilepsy, according to medical care utilization statistics and clinical studies. The EEG patterns during Transcendental Meditation—frequency, amplitude, areas of activation, and effects—are completely different from those seen in epilepsy. There is no evidence that the technique increases glutamate, a neurotransmitter linked to epilepsy. While meditation may increase serotonin, this effect has been associated only with beneficial outcomes, and the relationship of serotonin to epilepsy must be considered in the context of the abnormal brain tissue causing the condition.
Medical Hypotheses
January 1, 2005
Shahar Arzy, Moshé Idel, Théodor Landis et al.
Revelation experiences foundational to the three monotheistic religions share phenomenological features with experiences reported by contemporary non-mystic mountaineers at altitude, including feeling and hearing a presence, seeing a figure or lights, and fear. The authors suggest that exposure to altitude may alter functional and neural mechanisms—particularly in the temporo-parietal junction and prefrontal cortex—that facilitate such experiences. Acute and chronic hypoxia affect these brain areas, which are also linked to altered body perceptions and mystical experiences. Prolonged high-altitude stays, especially with social deprivation, may cause prefrontal lobe dysfunctions like reduced stress resistance and loss of inhibition. These parallels indicate altitude exposure might contribute to inducing revelation experiences and help explain the mountain metaphor in religion.
Medical Hypotheses
January 1, 2004
Yair Neuman
A case study of a person under deep sedation during colonoscopy shows that pain can be evident to the medical team (second-person perspective) while the patient reports no subjective pain (first-person perspective). This divergence suggests the intersubjective aspect of pain precedes the subjective experience, challenging the common representational view that places intrasubjective pain first. The author proposes that pain can be experienced unconsciously through the immune system, and hypothesizes that post-traumatic stress disorders following general anesthesia may result from this unconscious pain experience. If grounded, physicians should explore blocking unconscious pain without interfering with immune response and study pain as a complex cognitive and unconscious system analogous to the immune system.
Medical Hypotheses
January 1, 2004
J. Fell, C. Elger, M. Kurthen
The concept of neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs) refers to neural systems and states minimally sufficient for particular conscious states. This paper examines whether identifying an NCC allows one to claim that neural states cause conscious states. According to the NCC definition, neural and conscious states should occur simultaneously, while causal relations generally require temporal succession. Causality can be understood as efficient causation, involving energy exchange between events, or explanatory causation, referring to law-like conjunctions. From a dualistic perspective, efficient causation between neural and conscious states would violate physical laws because no energy transfer between domains is recognized.
Medical Hypotheses
January 1, 2003
M ben-Aaron
A first-principles reinterpretation of electroencephalograms from sleeping subjects explains how observed waveforms relate to cerebral processes. The manifestations of narcolepsy—sleep paralysis, hypnopompic hallucinations, and cataplexy—are consistent with the hypothesis that the disorder results from entrainment of cerebral waves, causing almost instantaneous descent into a REM sleep state.
Medical Hypotheses
April 1, 2002
M Fritzsche
Schizophrenia, cannabis intoxication, and cannabis psychosis produce similar distortions in time and space perception, suggesting a shared underlying dysfunction. Rather than pursuing genetic research, which has yielded disappointing results, this study examines information-theoretic explanations for these psychotic states. The authors propose that in acute psychosis, Kolmogorov entropy—involved in processing action and time—breaks down, while Shannon entropy—involved in higher-dimensional perception—increases, leading to positive symptoms and altered consciousness. Non-linear EEG analysis of Kolmogorov information could become a diagnostic tool for assessing information-processing breakdown in schizophrenia and help identify vulnerable individuals for protection against cannabis abuse.