Quantum Cognition: The possibility of processing with nuclear spins in the brain
Matthew P. A. Fisher

TL;DR
This paper explores the theoretical possibility that nuclear spin-based quantum processing could occur in the brain, involving phosphorus nuclei, Posner molecules, and quantum entanglement to influence neural activity.
Contribution
It proposes a novel model where nuclear spins in phosphorus and Posner molecules enable quantum processing and entanglement in the brain, a new perspective on neural quantum cognition.
Findings
Posner molecules can protect nuclear spin qubits for long durations
Enzyme reactions can generate entangled phosphate pairs
Quantum binding of Posner molecules may influence neuron firing
Abstract
The possibility that quantum processing with nuclear spins might be operative in the brain is proposed and then explored. Phosphorus is identified as the unique biological element with a nuclear spin that can serve as a qubit for such putative quantum processing - a neural qubit - while the phosphate ion is the only possible qubit-transporter. We identify the "Posner molecule", , as the unique molecule that can protect the neural qubits on very long times and thereby serve as a (working) quantum-memory. A central requirement for quantum-processing is quantum entanglement. It is argued that the enzyme catalyzed chemical reaction which breaks a pyrophosphate ion into two phosphate ions can quantum entangle pairs of qubits. Posner molecules, formed by binding such phosphate pairs with extracellular calcium ions, will inherit the nuclear spin entanglement. A…
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