Cogprints

Possible Roles of Neural Electron Spin Networks in Memory and Consciousness

Hu, Huping and Wu, Maoxin (2004) Possible Roles of Neural Electron Spin Networks in Memory and Consciousness. [Preprint]

Full text available as:

[img]
Preview
PDF
343Kb

Abstract

Spin is the origin of quantum effects in both Bohm and Hestenes quantum formulism and a fundamental quantum process associated with the structure of space-time. Thus, we have recently theorized that spin is the mind-pixel and developed a qualitative model of consciousness based on nuclear spins inside neural membranes and proteins. In this paper, we explore the possibility of unpaired electron spins being the mind-pixels. Besides free O2 and NO, the main sources of unpaired electron spins in neural membranes and proteins are transition metal ions and O2 and NO bound/absorbed to large molecules, free radicals produced through biochemical reactions and excited molecular triplet states induced by fluctuating internal magnetic fields. We show that unpaired electron spin networks inside neural membranes and proteins are modulated by action potentials through exchange and dipolar coupling tensors and spin-orbital coupling and g-factor tensors and perturbed by microscopically strong and fluctuating internal magnetic fields produced largely by diffusing O2. We argue that these spin networks could be involved in brain functions since said modulation inputs information carried by the neural spike trains into them, said perturbation activates various dynamics within them and the combination of the two likely produce stochastic resonance thus synchronizing said dynamics to the neural firings. Although quantum coherence is desirable, it is not required for these spin networks to serve as the microscopic components for the classical neural networks. On the quantum aspect, we speculate that human brain works as follows with unpaired electron spins being the mind-pixels: Through action potential modulated electron spin interactions and fluctuating internal magnetic field driven activations, the neural electron spin networks inside neural membranes and proteins form various entangled quantum states some of which survive decoherence through quantum Zeno effects or in decoherence-free subspaces and then collapse contextually via irreversible and non-computable means producing consciousness and, in turn, the collective spin dynamics associated with said collapses have effects through spin chemistry on classical neural activities thus influencing the neural networks of the brain. Thus, according to this alternative model, the unpaired electron spin networks are the “mind-screen,” the neural membranes and proteins are the mind-screen and memory matrices, and diffusing O2 and NO are pixel-activating agents. Together, they form the neural substrates of consciousness.

Item Type:Preprint
Keywords:consciousness, memory, spin, electron, spin network
Subjects:Neuroscience > Biophysics
ID Code:3544
Deposited By: Hu, Dr. Huping
Deposited On:06 Apr 2004
Last Modified:11 Mar 2011 08:55

References in Article

Select the SEEK icon to attempt to find the referenced article. If it does not appear to be in cogprints you will be forwarded to the paracite service. Poorly formated references will probably not work.

1. Marder, E., Abbott, L. F., Turrigiano, G. G., Liu, Z. & Golowasch, J. Memory from the dynamics of intrinsic membrane currents. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 1996; 93, 13481–13486.

2. Hunt, S. P. & Mantyh, P. W. The Molecular dynamics of pain control. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 2001; 2, 83–91.

3. Morais-Cabral, J. H., Zhou, Y. & MacKinnon, R. Energy optimisation of ion conduction rate by the K selectivity filter. Nature 2001; 414, 37–42.

4. Hu, H. P., & Wu, M. X. Spin-Mediated Consciousness Theory: possible roles of oxygen unpaired electronic spins and neural membrane nuclear spin ensemble in memory and consciousness. arXiv e-print 2002; quant-ph/0208068.

5. Hu, H. P., & Wu, M. X. Spin-Mediated Consciousness Theory: an approach based on pan-protopsychism. Cogprints 2003; ID2579.

6. Hu, H. P., & Wu, M. X. Spin as primordial self-referential process driving quantum mechanics, spacetime dynamics and consciousness. NeuroQuantology 2004; 1:41-49.

7. Hu, H. P., & Wu, M. X. Action Potential Modulation of Neural Spin Networks Suggests Possible Role of Spin. Cogprints 2004; ID3458.

8. Wertz, J. E., Bolton J. R. Electron Spin Resonance: Elementary theory and practical application (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1972).

9. Dirac, P. A. M. The quantum theory of the electron. Proc. R. Soc. A , 1928; 117: 610-624.

10. Penrose, R. A spinor approach to general relativity. Ann. Phys., 1960; 10: 171.

11. Penrose, R. Twistor algebra. J. Math. Phys., 1967; 8: 345.

12. Hestenes, D. Quantum mechanics from self-interaction. Found. Physics, 1983; 15: 63-87.

13. Salesi, G. and Recami, E. Hydrodynamics of spinning particles. Phys. Rev. A, 1998; 57: 98.

14. Esposito, S. On the role of spin in quantum mechanics. Found. Phys. Lett., 1999; 12: 165.

15. Bogan, J. R. Spin: the classical to quantum connection. http://www.arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0212110, 2002.

16. Kiehn, R. M. An extension to Bohm’s quantum theory to include non-gradient potentials and the production of nanometer vortices. http://www22.pair.com/csdc/pdf/bohmplus.pdf, 1999.

17. Sidharth, B. G. Issues and ramifications in quantized fractal space-time: an interface with quantum superstrings. Chaos Solitons Fractals, 2001 12: 1449-1457.

18. Sidharth, B. G., Chaotic Universe (New York: Nova Science, 2001).

19. Cantor, R. S. The lateral pressure profile in membranes: a physical mechanism of general anesthesia. Biochem., 1997; 36: 2339-2344.

20. Hu, H. P., Wu, M. X. Mechanism of anesthetic action: oxygen pathway perturbation hypothesis’, Med. Hypotheses, 2001; 57, 619-627.

21. Tu, K. Effect of anesthetics on the structure of a phospholipid bilayer: molecular dynamics investigation of halothane in the hydrated liquid crystal phase of dipalmitoyl-phosphatylcholine. Biophys. J., 1998; 75: 2123-2134.

22. Koubi, L. Distribution of halothane in a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer from molecular dynamics calculations. Biophys. J., 2000; 78: 800-811.

23. Penrose, R. The Emperor’s New Mind (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989).

24. Edelman, G. M. The Remembered Present: A Biological Theory of Consciousness (New York: Basic Books, 1989).

25. Donald, M. J. Quantum theory and the brain. Proc. R. Soc. A. 1990, 427: 43-93.

26. Beck, F., Eccles, J. C. Quantum aspects of brain activity and the role of consciousness. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1992; 89: 11357-11361.

27. Stapp. H. P. Mind, Matter and Quantum Mechanics (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1993).

28. Crick, F. The Astonishing Hypothesis (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994).

29. Penrose, R. Shadows of the Mind (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).

30. Hameroff, S., Penrose, R. Conscious events as orchestrated spacetime selections. J. Conscious Stud., 1996; 3: 36-53.

31. Searle, J. The Rediscovery of the Mind (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992).

32. Churchland, P.S., Sejnowski, T. J. The Computational Brain, 2d. ed. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1993).

33. Chalmers, D. The Conscious Mind (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996).

34. Barnet, A. & Weaver, J. C. Electroporation: a unified, quantitative theory of reversible electrical breakdown and mechanical rupture in artificial planar bilayer membranes. Bioelectrochem. Bioenerg. 1991; 25, 163–182.

35. Sargent, D. F. Voltage jump/capacitance relaxation studies of bilayer structure and dynamics. J. Membr. Biol. 1975; 23, 227–247.

36. Saux, A. L., Ruysschaert, J. M. & Goormaghtigh, E. Membrane molecule reorientation in an electric field recorded by attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Biophys. J. 2001; 80, 324-330–125.

37. Marsh, D. Polarity and permeation profiles in lipid membranes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2001; 98, 7777–7782.

38. Prosser, R. S., Luchette, P. A., Weterman, P. W., Rozek, A. & Hancock, R. E. W. Determination of membrane immersion depth with O2: A high-pressure 19F NMR study. Biophys. J. 2001; 80, 1406–1416.

39. Bezrukov, S. M. & Vodyanoy, I. Noise-induced enhancement of signal transduction across voltage-dependent ion channels. Nature 1995; 378, 362–364.

40. Simonotto, E., Riani, M., Seife, C., Roberts, M., Twitty, J. & Moss, F. Visual perception of stochastic resonance. Phys. Rev. Lett. 1997; 78, 1186–1189.

41. Bryan-Brown, G. P., Brown, C. V., Sage, I. C. & Hui, V. C. Voltage-dependent anchoring of a nematic liquid crystal on a grating surface. Nature 392, 365–367 (1998).

42. Walsh, V. & Cowey, A. Transcranial magnetic stimulation and cognitive neuroscience. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 1, 73–79 (2000).

43. Marino, A. A. Environmental electromagnetic fields and public health. In Foundations of Modern Bioelectricity Marino, A. A., ed. (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1988).

44. Shellock, F. G. Magnetic Resonance Safety Update 2002: Implants and Devices. J. Magn. Resonan. Imaging 2002; 16, 485–496.

45. Julsgaard, B., Kozhekin, A. & Polzik, E. S. Experimentally long-lived entanglement of two macroscopic objects. Nature 2001; 413, 400–403.

46. Nagakura, S., Hayashi, H. and Azumi, T. Dynamic Spin Chemistry (New York: Wiley, 1998).

47. Hayashi, H. Advent of spin chemistry. RIKEN Review, 2002: 44: 7-10.

48. Minaev, B. F. Intermolecular exchange in the system O2 + H2 as a model of spin-catalysis in radical recombination reaction. Theor. Experimental Chem., 1996; 32: 229.

49. Tegmark, M. The importance of quantum decoherence in brain processes. Phys. Rev., 2000; 61E: 4194.

50. Hagan, S., Hameroff, S. R. and Tuszynski, J. A. Quantum computation in brain microtubules: decoherence and biological feasibility’, Phys. Rev. E., 2002; 65: 061901(1-10).

51. Lidar, D. A., Whaley, K. B. Decoherence-free subspaces and subsystems. In Irreversible Quantum Dynamics, Benatti , F., Floreanini, R. (Eds.), 83-120 (Springer Lecture Notes in Physics vol. 622, Berlin, 2003).

52. Kun, S. Y., et. al. Schrodinger cat states in highly-excited strongly-interacting many-body system’, http://www.arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0205036, 2002.

53. Wikswo, J. P. Biomagnetic sources and their models. In Advances in Biomagnetism, Williamson, S. J., et al (Eds) (New York: Plenum, 1990).

54. Raffy, S., Teissie, J. Control of membrane stability by cholesterol content. Biophys. J., 1999; 76: 2072-2080.

55. Smondyrev, A M., Berkowitz, M. L. Structure of Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine-cholesterol bilayer at law and high cholesterol concentrations: molecular dynamics simulation’, Biophys. J., 1999; 77: 2075-2089.

56. Woolf, T. B., Roux, B. Structure, energetics, and dynamics of lipid-protein interactions: A molecular dynamics study of the gramicidin a channel in a DMPC bilayer. Proteins: Struct. Funct. Gen., 1996; 24: 92-114.

57. Limoniemi, R. J. Neuronal responses to magnetic stimulation reveal cortical reactivity and connectivity. NeuroReport, 1997; 8: 3537-3540.

58. Chicurei, M. Magnetic mind games. Nature, 2002; 417: 114-116.

59. Mennerick, S. Effect of nitrous oxide on excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in Hippocampal cultures. J. Neurosci., 1998; 18: 9716-9726.

60. Philippides, A., Husbands, P., and O’Shea, M. Four-dimensional neural signaling by nitric oxide: A computer analysis. J. Neurosci., 2000; 20: 1199-1207.

61. Fu, Y. X., et al. Temporal specificity in the cortical plasticity of visual space representation. Science, 2002; 296: 1999-2003.

62. Marder, E. et. al. Memory from the dynamics of intrinsic membrane currents. Proc. Natl. Sci. USA, 1996; 93: 13481-13486.

Metadata

Repository Staff Only: item control page