Orchestrated reduction of quantum coherence in brain microtubules: A model for consciousness

Stuart Hameroff

doi:10.14704/nq.2007.5.1.114

Orchestrated reduction of quantum coherence in brain microtubules: A model for consciousness

Stuart Hameroff

Anesthesiology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

Orch OR ("Orchestrated Objective Reduction") is a theory of consciousness put forth in the mid-1990s by British physicist Sir Roger Penrose and American anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff. Whereas most theories assume consciousness emerges from complex computation at the level of synapses among brain neurons, Orch OR involves a specific form of quantum computation which underlies these neuronal synaptic activities. The proposed quantum computations occur in structures inside the brain's neurons called microtubules.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1-8
Number of pages	8
Journal	NeuroQuantology
Volume	5
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.14704/nq.2007.5.1.114
State	Published - 2007

Keywords

Computation
Consciousness
Microtubules
Neurons
Orchestrated objective reduction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Developmental Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience

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10.14704/nq.2007.5.1.114

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keywords = "Computation, Consciousness, Microtubules, Neurons, Orchestrated objective reduction",

author = "Stuart Hameroff",

note = "Funding Information: SH is partially supported by NSF Grant No. DMS-9114503. We are grateful to Alwyn Scott and Richard Hofstad. Artwork by Dave Cantrell, Biomedical Communications, University of Arizona. Dedicated to Burnell R. Brown Jr. MD, Ph.D. FRCA. Reprinted in: Toward a Science of Consciousness: The First Tucson Discussions and Debates, S. Hameroff, A. Kaszniak, A. Scott, eds. (MIT Press, Cambridge, 1996).",

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Orchestrated reduction of quantum coherence in brain microtubules: A model for consciousness

Abstract

Keywords

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