Stream of consciousness: Quantum and biochemical assumptions regarding psychopathology.
Lucio Tonello, Massimo Cocchi, Fabio Gabrielli, Jack A Tuszynski
Medical Hypotheses April 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2017.02.013 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Depression |
| Keywords | EEG Experimental neuroscience Gamma synchrony Psychopathology Quantum physics Stream of consciousness |
| Key points | Proposes that unipolar depression involves an altered, "increased power" stream of consciousness linked to Gamma Synchrony, and that integrating quantum models with experimental neuroscience could address psychopathology. |
Abstract
The accepted paradigms of mainstream neuropsychiatry appear to be incompletely adequate and in various cases offer equivocal analyses. However, a growing number of new approaches are being proposed that suggest the emergence of paradigm shifts in this area. In particular, quantum theories of mind, brain and consciousness seem to offer a profound change to the current approaches. Unfortunately these quantum paradigms harbor at least two serious problems. First, they are simply models, theories, and assumptions, with no convincing experiments supporting their claims. Second, they deviate from contemporary mainstream views of psychiatric illness and do so in revolutionary ways. We suggest a possible way to integrate experimental neuroscience with quantum models in order to address outstanding issues in psychopathology. A key role is played by the phenomenon called the "stream of consciousness", which can be linked to the so-called "Gamma Synchrony" (GS), which is clearly demonstrated by EEG data. In our novel proposal, a unipolar depressed patient could be seen as a subject with an altered stream of consciousness. In particular, some clues suggest that depression is linked to an "increased power" stream of consciousness. It is additionally suggested that such an approach to depression might be extended to psychopathology in general with potential benefits to diagnostics and therapeutics in neuropsychiatry.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psilocybin-assisted therapy of major depressive disorder using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a therapeutic frame | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Yale Manual for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy of Depression (using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Therapeutic Frame) | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Neuroinflammation and neuroprogression in depression: Effects of alternative drug treatments | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Improving cognitive functioning in major depressive disorder with psychedelics: A dimensional approach | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Consciousness in the universe: a review of the 'Orch OR' theory. March 1, 2014
- Quantum computation in brain microtubules? The Penrose–Hameroff ‘Orch OR‘ model of consciousness Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences August 15, 1998
- The “conscious pilot”—dendritic synchrony moves through the brain to mediate consciousness Journal of Biological Physics April 1, 2009
- Keeping time: could quantum beating in microtubules be the basis for the neural synchrony related to consciousness? Journal of Integrative Neuroscience June 2014
- Quantum models of the mind: are they compatible with environment decoherence? Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics September 1, 2004
and 3 more in the library