Is Consciousness the Result of Quantum Computation in the Brain's Neural Network? ... A Review of Penrose's Orch OR Theory

A review of the 'orchestrated objective reduction' (Orch OR) theory proposes that consciousness arises not from classical synaptic computation but from coherent quantum processes inside microtubules within brain neurons. The theory, developed over 20 years, asserts that biologically orchestrated quantum computations in microtubules collapse the quantum wavefunction via objective reduction, creating moments of conscious awareness. This collapse is linked to space-time geometry, suggesting a fundamental connection between brain processes and the universe's structure. The paper integrates physics and neurobiology to argue that consciousness and free will may be intrinsic phenomena of the universe, not mere neural illusions.

Study at a glance

Abstract

A study published in Physics of Life Reviews provides a culmination and review of the development over the past 20 years of the theory that "orchestrated objective reduction" (Orch OR) occurring within microtubules in brain neural networks forms consciousness. It asserts that the source of conscious experience is not classical synaptic computation, but coherent quantum processes occurring within collections of microtubules. This landmark paper combines physics and neurobiology to explain how the collapse of the quantum wavefunction (objective reduction) couples with space-time geometry to create moments of conscious awareness. [Quantum Biology Society] Where and how exactly human consciousness arises in the brain remains one of the deepest unresolved challenges in modern science and philosophy. Until now, mainstream neuroscience has explained consciousness as an emergent phenomenon resulting from the complexification of classical electrochemical signal computations through synapses between neurons. However, the 'Orchestrated Objective Reduction' (Orch OR) theory, established by Nobel laureate in physics Roger Penrose and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, overturns this classical approach and argues that the origin of consciousness lies in the extremely microscopic quantum world inside brain nerve cells. The paper "Consciousness in the universe: A review of the 'Orch OR' theory," published in the international journal Physics of Life Reviews, is a landmark study that synthesizes this unconventional theory, which has been developing for over 20 years. ■ Microtubules: The Microchip of Consciousness Where Quantum Computation Occurs The researchers focused on collections of microtubules, which are cylindrical protein structures existing inside neurons. They propose that biologically 'orchestrated' coherent quantum processes occur within these microtubules, and that these quantum processes correlate with and regulate the synaptic and membrane activity of nerve cells. Even in the warm and wet brain environment, the fine structure inside microtubules is the core stage that overcomes environmental decoherence and maintains quantum coherence. ■ Quantum Collapse Meets Space-Time Geometry: The Birth of Conscious Moments The most original part of the Orch OR theory lies in explaining the termination point of continuous Schrödinger evolution—that is, the process of the collapse of the quantum wavefunction—using the concept of objective reduction (OR) in the specific 'Diósi-Penrose (DP) scheme'. It suggests that as quantum entanglement and computation are orchestrated and gradually grow within microtubules, the very instantaneous collapse that occurs when reaching this threshold of objective reduction creates the "moments of conscious awareness and/or choice" that we experience. ■ The Great Integration of Neuroscience and Quantum Physics This paper directly connects the biochemical structure of the brain with quantum mechanics and space-time geometry, the most fundamental physical laws of the universe. Based on the fact that the DP form of objective reduction is deeply related to the basic geometry of space-time, it strongly suggests that a fundamental connection exists between the biomolecular processes of the brain and the basic structure of the universe. This provides a revolutionary insight that human consciousness and free will are not merely mechanical illusions of classical neural networks, but could be intrinsic phenomena of the universe itself. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24070914/