From uncertainty and entropy to coherence and consciousness

Consciousness may arise from the brain's process of reducing uncertainty about sensory input, a mechanism that can be understood as minimizing informational and thermodynamic entropy. Sensory processing is described as Bayesian inference, and conscious awareness emerges when uncertainty falls below a critical threshold. The framework links consciousness to negentropy and emphasizes coherence, including possible quantum coherence, in perception. It challenges existing models like Integrated Information Theory and proposes that consciousness acts as a cooling mechanism for neuronal circuits, measurable by temperature changes. Direct empirical evidence is lacking, but the perspective suggests new directions for understanding the physical and computational foundations of conscious experience.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Understanding the neural basis of consciousness remains a fundamental challenge in neuroscience. This study proposes a novel framework that conceptualizes consciousness through the lens of uncertainty reduction and negative entropy, emphasizing the role of coherence in its emergence. Sensory processing may operate as a Bayesian inference mechanism aimed at minimizing the brain's uncertainty regarding external stimuli, and conscious awareness emerges when uncertainty is reduced below a critical threshold. Computationally, this corresponds to minimizing informational uncertainty, while at a physical level it corresponds to reductions in thermodynamic entropy, thereby linking consciousness to negentropy. This study emphasizes the role of coherence in conscious perception and challenges existing models like Integrated Information Theory by exploring the potential contributions of quantum coherence and entanglement. Although direct empirical validation is currently lacking, we propose the hypothesis that consciousness acts as a cooling mechanism for the brain, as measured by the temperature of neuronal circuits. This perspective affords new insights into the physical and computational foundations of conscious experience and indicates a possible direction for future research in consciousness studies.