The origins of the brain's endogenous electromagnetic field and its relationship to provision of consciousness.

A biophysically realistic mechanism is proposed for how the brain's endogenous electromagnetic (EM) field could originate consciousness. The spatial and temporal coherent action of transmembrane ion channel currents, acting like tiny current filaments, produces electric and magnetic fields that dominate all other field sources. Computational exploration of a realistic hippocampus CA1 pyramidal neuron reveals that action potential signaling creates a highly structured, focused, and directed "sweeping-lighthouse beam" that "illuminates" neighbors at millimeter scales. This offers a possible explanation for EEG/MEG origins and functional EM coupling. An EM field decomposition reveals objective and subjective perspectives intrinsic to membrane-centric field dynamics, where perceptual "fields" operate as collective virtual EM-boson composites called qualeons, offering a physically plausible route to solving the "hard problem" of consciousness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

As a potential source of consciousness, the brain's endogenous electromagnetic (EM) field has much to commend it. Difficulties connecting EM phenomena and consciousness have been exacerbated by the lack of a specific conclusive biophysically realistic mechanism originating the EM field, its form and dynamics. This work explores a potential mechanism: the spatial and temporal coherent action of transmembrane ion channel currents which simultaneously produce electric and magnetic fields that dominate all other field sources. Ion channels, as tiny current filaments, express, at a distance, the electric and magnetic fields akin to those of a short (transmembrane) copper wire. Following assembly of appropriate formalisms from EM field theory, the paper computationally explores the scalar electric potential produced by the current filaments responsible for an action potential (AP) in a realistic hippocampus CA1 pyramidal neuron. It reveals that AP signaling can impress a highly structured, focused and directed "sweeping-lighthouse beam" that "illuminates" neighbors at mm scales. Ion channel currents thereby provide a possible explanation for both EEG/MEG origins and recently confirmed functional EM coupling effects. Finally, a physically plausible EM field decomposition is posited. It reveals objective and subjective perspectives intrinsic to the membrane-centric field dynamics. Perceptual "fields" can be seen to operate as the collective action of virtual EM-boson composites (called qualeons) visible only by "being" the fields, yet objectively appear as the familiar EM field activity. This explains the problematic evidence presentation and offers a physically plausible route to a solution to the "hard problem".