Decoherence Time in Microtubules at Physiological Temperature: An Unresolved Experimental Gap and Proposed Protocol
Inna Alieksieienko
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) March 6, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18884502 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary |
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| Key points | Argues that no direct measurement of quantum decoherence time in microtubules or tubulin at physiological temperature exists, leaving theoretical estimates that differ by 7–8 orders of magnitude unresolved. Proposes cavity QED Rabi splitting spectroscopy on single microtubules at 37°C as a minimal protocol to settle the discrepancy, noting consequences for quantum theories of consciousness. |
Abstract
A fundamental contradiction in quantum biology remains unresolved after 25 years:theoretical estimates of decoherence time in microtubules range from ~10-13 s (Tegmark,2000) to ~10-6 s (Mavromatos et al., 2025) — a discrepancy of 7–8 orders of magnitude.No direct experimental measurement of quantum decoherence time in microtubules ortubulin at physiological temperature (37°C) has been performed to date. This noteidentifies this gap, reviews existing theoretical predictions and indirect experimentalevidence, and proposes a minimal experimental protocol — cavity QED Rabi splittingspectroscopy on single microtubules at physiological temperature — capable of resolvingthe contradiction. Resolution has direct implications for the physical plausibility of quantumtheories of consciousness.