Abstract
The ‘Orch OR’ theory attributes consciousness to quantum computations in microtubules inside brain neurons. Quantum computers process information as superpositions of multiple possibilities (quantum bits or qubits) which, in Orch OR, are alternative collective dipole oscillations orchestrated (‘Orch’) by microtubules. These orchestrated oscillations entangle, compute, and terminate (‘collapse of the wavefunction’) by Penrose objective reduction (‘OR’), resulting in sequences of Orch OR moments with orchestrated conscious experience (metaphorically more like music than computation). Each Orch OR event selects microtubule states which govern neuronal functions. Orch OR has broad explanatory power, and is easily falsifiable.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 74-76 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Cognitive Neuroscience |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs |
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State | Published - 2021 |
Keywords
- Consciousness
- Orch OR
- anesthesia
- microtubule
- orchestrated objective reduction
- pyramidal neuron
- quantum computing
- tubulin
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cognitive Neuroscience