Experimental evidence of non-classical brain functions
📄 Original study ↗Plain English Summary
This is a bold one. Researchers claim they've found the first experimental evidence that quantum entanglement -- the spooky connection between particles that Einstein famously hated -- actually happens inside living human brains. They borrowed a clever detection method originally designed for quantum gravity research and applied it using brain scans (MRI) on 40 volunteers. What they found was remarkable: mysterious signal bursts popped up across most brain regions, with intensity jumps of up to 15%. These signals had all the telltale signatures of quantum behavior -- they followed precise mathematical patterns that classical physics simply cannot produce. Perhaps most fascinating, the signals depended on whether people were actually conscious: they faded away during sleep. If this holds up, it's a big deal for theories suggesting consciousness might rely on quantum mechanics, and it gives a potential physical basis for ideas about telepathy and mind-matter interaction that invoke non-local quantum connections.
Research Notes
First claimed experimental evidence for quantum entanglement in living brain tissue using a novel NMR witness protocol adapted from quantum gravity proposals. Directly relevant to quantum consciousness theories that underpin some psi hypotheses, particularly non-local models invoked for telepathy and mind-matter interaction.
Using proposals from quantum gravity that entanglement between two known quantum systems can witness non-classicality in a mediating system, this study applied zero quantum coherence (ZQC) NMR protocols to 40 human volunteers at rest in a 3T MRI scanner. Evoked signal bursts resembling heartbeat-evoked potentials appeared in most brain regions with up to 15% signal increases. These signals showed definitive ZQC characteristics (magic angle dependency R²=0.9958, optimal flip angle at 45° R²=0.9964, MTC immunity), had no classical NMR contrast correlates, surpassed classical bounds, and depended on conscious awareness—declining during sleep. The authors conclude these constitute experimental evidence of non-classical (quantum) brain functions.
Links
Related Papers
Companion
- The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox in the Brain: The Transferred Potential — Grinberg-Zylberbaum, Jacobo (1994)
- Evidence of Correlated Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Signals Between Distant Human Brains — Standish, Leanna J (2003)
- Quantum Aspects of the Brain-Mind Relationship: A Hypothesis with Supporting Evidence — Kauffman, Stuart A (2023)
- Biological Utilisation of Quantum NonLocality — Josephson, Brian D (1991)
- Does Consciousness Collapse the Wave-Packet? — Bierman, Dick J (2003)
- Correlations between brain electrical activities of two spatially separated human subjects — Wackermann, Jiří (2003)
- Extrasensory Perception and Quantum Models of Cognition — Tressoldi, Patrizio E (2010)
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📋 Cite this paper
Kerskens, Christian Matthias, López Pérez, David (2022). Experimental evidence of non-classical brain functions. Journal of Physics Communications. https://doi.org/10.1088/2399-6528/ac94be
@article{kerskens_2022_quantum_brain,
title = {Experimental evidence of non-classical brain functions},
author = {Kerskens, Christian Matthias and López Pérez, David},
year = {2022},
journal = {Journal of Physics Communications},
doi = {10.1088/2399-6528/ac94be},
}