A Unified Model of Consciousness: Glycoprotein Patterns in Memory Processes and Quantum Entanglement.

Memory could be encoded as patterns of hydrogen-bonded 'frozen' conformers of neuronal glycoproteins, leveraging the many asymmetric centers in sugar molecules for stable information storage. This mechanism may underlie learning, storage, and recall. Penrose and Hameroff's orchestrated objective reduction (Orch OR) theory proposes quantum superpositions and entanglement in neuronal microtubules produce conscious awareness. Recent work by Babcock et al. (2024) demonstrated ultraviolet super radiance in tryptophan-containing protein networks, including tubulin, under physiological conditions, suggesting protein architectures can support collective excitonic states. A unified model proposes microtubules as quantum information processors routing distributed information, while glycoprotein conformational patterns serve as a molecular memory register, bridging quantum events and cognitive function.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The author had previously proposed that memory could be encoded as patterns of hydrogen-bonded "frozen" conformers of neuronal glycoproteins. These stabilised molecular patterns represent an ideal template for information storage in the human brain because of the large number of asymmetric centres present in sugar molecules with attached hydroxyl groups. Hydrogen bonding of hydroxyl groups present on sugar molecules with other hydroxyl or amino groups on nearby sugar or nucleic acid units, through intramolecular or intermolecular hydrogen bonding, can result in the formation of memory patterns comprising such "frozen conformers". This mechanism can be involved in learning, information storage, and its recall. Penrose and Hameroff's orchestrated objective reduction (Orch OR) theory proposes that quantum superpositions and entanglement within neuronal microtubules are orchestrated by cellular processes and periodically undergo objective reduction, yielding discrete moments of conscious awareness. Recent developments in quantum biology and protein photophysics have significantly narrowed the gap between these perspectives. Most notably, Babcock et al. (2024) demonstrated that ultraviolet super radiance can occur in tryptophan- containing protein networks, including tubulin assemblies, indicating that protein architectures can support collective excitonic states (and associated subradiant "dark" manifolds) under physiological conditions. These findings can potentially address decoherence objections and provide a tangible mechanism by which aromatic amino-acid networks could mediate coherent energy/information transfer in living cells. We present here a possible unified model combining these concepts: Microtubules are proposed to function as quantum information processors that may bind and route distributed information through excitonic or entanglement dynamics, while glycoprotein conformational patterns could serve as a molecular register for memory storage. The convergent evidence from spectroscopy, anesthetic pharmacology, and glycosylation biology are reviewed in this context. The combination of these concepts can offer a mechanistic bridge between quantum events and cognitive function.