Does Consciousness Collapse the Wave Function

TL;DR

This study replicates a quantum physics experiment to test if consciousness influences wave function collapse, using EEG to measure early brain responses, and finds supporting evidence for the 'subjective reduction' hypothesis.

Contribution

It introduces a replication with increased delay and EEG measurements, providing new support for the role of consciousness in wave function collapse.

Findings

Significant differences in brain responses based on observer’s prior observation.

Supports the 'subjective reduction' hypothesis over alternative explanations.

Encourages further research into consciousness and quantum measurement.

Abstract

A conceptual replication of the Hall-experiment to test the 'subjective reduction' interpretation of the measurement problem in Quantum Physics is reported. Two improvements are introduced. First the delay between pre-observation and final observation of the same quantum event is increased from a few microseconds in the original experiment to 1 second in this replication. Second, rather than using the observers conscious response as the dependent variable, we use the early brain responses as measured by EEG. These early responses cover a period where the observer is not yet conscious of the quantum event. Results support the 'subjective reduction' hypothesis because significant differences between the brain responses of the final observer are found dependent upon the pre-observer looking or not looking at the quantum event (exact binomial p < 0.02). Alternative 'normal' explanations are discussed and rejected. It is concluded that the present results do justify further research along these lines.