Molecular Quantum (MolQ) Communication Channel in the Gut-Brain Axis Synapse

TL;DR

This paper introduces Molecular Quantum (MolQ) communication as a novel quantum-based model for gut-brain axis signaling, analyzing quantum states and information transfer during neurotransmitter-induced ion channel opening.

Contribution

It proposes a new quantum communication paradigm for neural synapses, specifically modeling the gut-brain axis at a molecular level with theoretical analysis and simulation.

Findings

Quantum states of neurotransmitter signals analyzed

Mutual information between neurotransmitter concentration and ion channel opening validated

Entropy analysis supports the quantum communication model

Abstract

The gut-brain axis is the communication link between the gut and the brain. Although it is known that the gut-brain axis plays a pivotal role in homeostasis, its overall mechanism is still not known. However, for neural synapses, classical molecular communication is described by the formation of ligand-receptor complexes, which leads to the opening of ion channels. Moreover, there are some conditions that need to be fulfilled before the opening of the ion channel. In this study, we consider the gut-brain axis, where neurotransmitters diffuse through the synaptic cleft, considering molecular communication. On the vagus nerve (VN) membrane, i.e., the post-synaptic membrane of the synapse, it undergoes a quantum communication (QC), which initiates the opening of the ion channel, thus initiating the communication signal from the gut to the brain. It evolves a new paradigm of communication approach, Molecular Quantum (MolQ) communication. Based on the QC model, we theoretically analyze the output states, and QC is simulated considering the incoming neurotransmitter's concentration and validated by analyzing the entropy and the mutual information of the input, i.e., neurotransmitter's concentration, and output, i.e., ion channel opening.