Quantum Computing and the Future of Neurodegeneration and Mental Health Research (original) (raw)

Quantum neurophysics: From non-living matter to quantum neurobiology and psychopathology

International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2015

The concepts of quantum brain, quantum mind and quantum consciousness have been increasingly gaining currency in recent years, both in scientific papers and in the popular press. In fact, the concept of the quantum brain is a general framework. Included in it are basically four main sub-headings. These are often incorrectly used interchangeably. The first of these and the one which started the quantum mind/consciousness debate was the place of consciousness in the problem of measurement in quantum mechanics. Debate on the problem of quantum measurement and about the place of the conscious observer has lasted almost a century. One solution to this problem is that the participation of a conscious observer in the experiment will radically change our understanding of the universe and our relationship with the outside world. The second topic is that of quantum biology. This topic has become a popular field of research, especially in the last decade. It concerns whether or not the rules of quantum physics operate in biological structures. It has been shown in the latest research on photosynthesis, the sense of smell and magnetic direction finding in animals that the laws of quantum physics may operate in warm-wet-noisy biological structures. The third sub-heading is quantum neurobiology. This topic has not yet gained wide acceptance and is still in its early stages. Its primary purpose is directed to understand whether the laws of quantum physics are effective in the biology of the nervous system or not. A further step in brain neurobiology, towards the understanding of consciousness formation, is the research of quantum laws' effects upon neural network functions. The fourth and final topic is quantum psychopathology. This topic takes its basis and its support from quantum neurobiology. It comes from the idea that if quantum physics is involved in the normal working of the brain, diseased conditions of the brain such as depression, anxiety, dementia, schizophrenia and hallucinations can be explained by quantum physical pathology. In this article, these topics will be reviewed in a general framework, and for the first time a general classification will be made for the quantum brain theory.

Quantum Neurobiology

Quantum Reports

Quantum neurobiology is concerned with potential quantum effects operating in the brain and the application of quantum information science to neuroscience problems, the latter of which is the main focus of the current paper. The human brain is fundamentally a multiscalar problem, with complex behavior spanning nine orders of magnitude-scale tiers from the atomic and cellular level to brain networks and the central nervous system. In this review, we discuss a new generation of bio-inspired quantum technologies in the emerging field of quantum neurobiology and present a novel physics-inspired theory of neural signaling (AdS/Brain (anti-de Sitter space)). Three tiers of quantum information science-directed neurobiology applications can be identified. First are those that interpret empirical data from neural imaging modalities (EEG, MRI, CT, PET scans), protein folding, and genomics with wavefunctions and quantum machine learning. Second are those that develop neural dynamics as a broad...

Briefing on Quantum Computable Brains and Branes in Neuroscience and PSED Research

Quantum biology (QB) and quantum computing (QC) are rapidly maturing and in certain contemporary research tracks converging in constructive ways with the prospects for nearer-than-expected practical and usable applications. Both areas of basic research and technology development offer promising tools and pathways for understanding biophysical and neurological processes within the brain and central nervous system, with potentially great value for identifying, diagnosing and even predicting potential pathologies. Both QB and QC also offer values today for synthetic (artificial) intelligence systems. Within the latter are system architectures such as may be designed and implemented following either of two basic paths: devices based upon specifically quantumcomputational models, or conventional Turing-machine type computational engines (e.g., supercomputing systems and/or stochastically distributed networks of computers operating and communicating across the global internet).

Quantum mechanics and the brain

Quantum Interaction: Papers from the AAAI …, 2007

In this paper we discuss possible quantum effects in the brain. We start with a historical review of what some prominent physicists have said about it. We then discuss some proposals that quantum superpositions may be used by the brain. Although decoherence effects in the brain are believed to be too strong to allow quantum computations, we describe how quantum processes support the capability of some eyes to detect small number of photons. Finally, we outline how modern physics techniques may be used to perform experiments that, if successful, would show conditioning to single photons.

Quantum Brain Networks: A Perspective

Electronics

We propose Quantum Brain Networks (QBraiNs) as a new interdisciplinary field integrating knowledge and methods from neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. The objective is to develop an enhanced connectivity between the human brain and quantum computers for a variety of disruptive applications. We foresee the emergence of hybrid classical-quantum networks of wetware and hardware nodes, mediated by machine learning techniques and brain–machine interfaces. QBraiNs will harness and transform in unprecedented ways arts, science, technologies, and entrepreneurship, in particular activities related to medicine, Internet of Humans, intelligent devices, sensorial experience, gaming, Internet of Things, crypto trading, and business.

Quantum Paradigms of Psychopathology: From Consciousness to Neuroethics

Open Journal of Depression, 2017

The present work deals with the complexity of the arguments underlying the meaning of the quantum paradigm of psychopathology. In particular, the quantum approach to the understanding of the brain and consciousness, seems to present convergence of thinking of many scientists and also seems to be the most promising way in the approach of future research. The practical potency of classical neuroscience directed toward either beneficial or perverse purposes will prove in the end limited by that orthodox paradigm's inherently poor explanatory power in linking mind and brain, especially at the basic level of the Hard Problem as Chalmers (1995) has termed. However, if quantum neurobiology should demonstrate greater explanatory power than does its classical counterpart, then an enhanced potential not only for constructive psychiatric application but also for politically motivated abuse will follow with a vengeance. If the mechanistic-reductionist cognitive approaches have been characterised by the metaphor of the "edifice", of the solid Cartesian rock, all the forms of knowledge founded on complexity theory, have been characterised by the metaphor of the "network", of thinking in relationships, in a dynamic, fluid, open manner. In the field of mental illness, this means setting aside both the organicist paradigm and the pseudo-phenomenological, "sentimental", and therefore ideological, paradigm, in order to have an integrated view of biological objectiveness and humanistic psychotherapy. That is to say, an expression of diverse interrelated contributions from the various disciplines (psychiatry, psychology, biochemistry, anthropology, quantum physics, mathematics, philosophy). The observer thus becomes a builder of models, a manager of complexity, giving treatment the character of a truly empathic relationship. This is all the more so where distressing pathologies are involved, such as Major Depression (MD) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), caput mortuum of psychiatry, because the absence of cogent biological markers seriously compromises every form of therapy.

It’s Time to Go Quantum in Medicine

Journal of Clinical Medicine

As the field of medicine grows and expands, new scientific developments hold great promise for improving quality of care, clinical research, and the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Quantum physics is a promising field that intersects with medicine much more than originally understood. In terms of diagnosing different diseases, incorporating quantum mechanics into the study of medicine can allow for efficient diagnosis before symptoms even arise in a patient. Applying theory-based mathematical structures that describe neuron transmission throughout the brain and mind on a quantum scale can help us to better understand neurological diseases in patients. Quantum theory can even give plausible explanations for subtle DNA changes and even telomere reduction in patients who develop cancer. Utilizing quantum theory in the field of medicine can help in understanding and applying treatments for a multitude of different diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease or diverse types of cancer, an...

Can the human brain do quantum computing?

Medical Hypothesis

The electrical membrane properties have been the key issues in the understanding of the cerebral physiology for more than almost two centuries. But, molecular neurobiology has now discovered that biochemical transactions play an important role in neuronal computations. Quantum computing (QC) is becoming a reality both from the theoretical point of view as well as from practical applications. Quantum mechanics is the most accurate description at atomic level and it lies behind all chemistry that provides the basis for biology ... maybe the magic of entanglement is also crucial for life. The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the dendrite spine as a quantum computing device, taking into account what is known about the physiology of the glutamate receptors and the cascade of biochemical transactions triggered by the glutamate binding to these receptors.