⇧ [VIDÉO] You might also like this partner content
How is consciousness founded? This question, among the most profound and complex in science, has fascinated philosophers, neuroscientists and physicists for centuries. A theory, suggesting a link between quantum physics and human consciousness, emerged several decades ago. Long controversial, it has gained credibility as recent studies have revealed evidence for it.
Since Plato, Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius, many thinkers have attempted to unravel the mystery of human consciousness. But it is only over the centuries that modern sciences have undertaken to give it a methodological framework. Although the results obtained are often fragmentary, certain contributions stand out. Among them, those of Stuart Hameroff, professor of anesthesiology at the University of Arizona. His research on the effects of anesthetics led him to become interested in microtubules, these cytoskeletal structures made up of alpha and beta tubulin proteins. According to Hameroff, these microtubules could play a role in the mechanisms of consciousness.
However, despite his investigations, the scientist was not able to demonstrate precisely how these structures would contribute to the emergence of consciousness. For his part, well before receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2020, Roger Penrose, in his work The Emperor’s New Mindpublished in 1989, put forward the idea that human consciousness has a quantum nature. This hypothesis, however, faced a major obstacle: the absence of a biological mechanism explaining how the collapse of the quantum wave function could generate conscious experiences. Intrigued by this theory, Hameroff suggested that quantum processes at work in microtubules could be the origin.
A theory uniting biology and quantum physics
From their collaboration in the 1990s was born the theory of quantum consciousness, called “orchestrated objective reduction” (Orch OR). According to their work, published in 1996 in the journal Mathematics and Computers in Simulationthe collapse of the quantum wave function would be orchestrated by microtubules, identified as the biological mechanisms missing in Penrose’s initial hypotheses. The researchers proposed that these structures would be capable of maintaining superimposed quantum states, enabling information processing based on non-classical principles.
Despite its complexity and originality, the Orch OR theory has remained a subject of controversy for almost thirty years. A recurring criticism concerns the environment of the brain, described as too hot and humid to allow quantum phenomena, which are generally observed at temperatures close to absolute zero (-273.15 ° C). Proponents of this objection argue that, under these conditions, the laws of classical physics take over. Hameroff and Penrose nevertheless responded by arguing that consciousness goes beyond simple mechanical calculations and may escape, to some extent, our current understanding of quantum mechanics. “I think our theory is sound from a physics, biology and anesthesia perspective“, Hameroff recently told Popular Mechanics.
A scientific debate that persists
Despite skepticism, some research appears to support the idea of a quantum dimension of consciousness. In 2021, a team led by Xian-Min Jin, from Shanghai Jiaotong University, studied the dynamics of quantum particles in complex structures such as the brain. The results revealed distinct behaviors between quantum and classical fractals, supporting the hypothesis of a quantum interaction within microtubules.
See also
More recently, work at Howard University has highlighted quantum effects directly linked to microtubules, while another team, led by Michael Wiest, sought to confirm their role in states of consciousness by examining their interaction with volatile anesthetics.
Furthermore, researchers like Zefei Liu, Yong-Cong Chen and Ping Ao are exploring quantum communication between neurons by looking at the properties of myelin. They postulate that the vibrations of the CH bonds in this sheath could generate entangled photons, thus opening a new avenue on the physical bases of consciousness.
If this work rekindles the debate, the Orch OR theory remains far from unanimously accepted. “I don’t think everyone agrees, but I believe our theory will be taken seriously», concludes Stuart Hameroff, giving a glimpse of a future where biology and quantum physics could finally shed light on one of humanity’s greatest mysteries.
