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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 4: Posters Biological Physics
BP 4.11: Poster
Thursday, September 30, 2021, 11:15–12:15, P
Revisiting the quantum brain — •Christian Kerskens — Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
More than 30 years ago, Penrose's published his pioneering ideas about the quantum brain, which was back then based on the knowledge at the time. This work, which marked an interim high in the field, received severe criticism. Meanwhile, many scientific areas relevant for the understanding of brain processes have evolved enormously. However, reservations remain. Here, we put some of those new jigsaw pieces together. We review findings from physics, quantum information, nematic, active matter, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy which, we believe, could guide us towards a quantum brain theory. Thereby, we intend not to present a completed theory. We are aware that some direct translation from quantum physics to biology will, at the time, not hold a critical debate. However, we argue that the problem may be down to an insufficient understanding of physics, which needs to be solved. Biology may guide us (remember electrodynamics) once more to find in-depth insight into fundamental physics. Therefore, we divide the findings into those which resemble quantum computing but which can't be explained theoretically and into those which violate classicality in cognition and consciousness. We conclude that the brain may mimic a real brain quantum computer, which could potentially be based on topological quantum computing.