Funda-mental Geometry: the Penrose-Hameroff ‘Orch OR’ Model of Consciousness

Roger Penrose argued that conscious thought involves non-algorithmic processing beyond computation, requiring a new physical principle. He proposed that 'objective reduction' (OR) of quantum coherent superposition, a quantum gravity solution for wave function collapse, performs these non-computational actions. The author suggests that macroscopic quantum effects enabling OR occur in neuronal microtubules within the cell cytoskeleton, the most likely site in the brain.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract In The Emperor’s New Mind and Shadows of the Mind, Roger Penrose followed a delicate thread to begin to unravel the problem of consciousness. He concluded that conscious thought is more than computation—our minds utilize some type of non-algorithmic processing unavailable in computers. Regarding the identity of the proposed processing, the intrepid sleuth also searched for a ‘subtle and largely unknown physical principle’ capable of performing the needed non-computational actions. That principle was deduced to be ‘objective reduction’ (OR) of quantum coherent superposition, Penrose’s quantum gravity solution for the problem of wave function collapse in quantum mechanics. The next piece of the puzzle then became: where and how could quantum coherent superposition and OR occur in the brain? To that end, Penrose began collaboration with this author, who suggested that the logical and most likely source of macroscopic quantum effects in the brain lies in neuronal microtubules in the cell cytoskeleton.