Can quantum physics help solve the hard problem of consciousness? A hypothesis based on entangled spins and photons
arXiv Preprint Archive September 8, 2018 Christoph Simon
Subjective experience is both unified and complex, which is hard to explain through classical physics. Quantum entanglement, which is naturally both complex and unified, may offer a basis for consciousness. A concrete hypothesis proposes that subjective experience corresponds to the dynamics of a complex entangled state of spins, continuously generated and updated by photon exchange. Spins in condensed matter at body temperature can maintain coherence for milliseconds to seconds—the timescale of conscious experience. Neurons emit photons, likely from reactive oxygen species in mitochondria. Opsins, light-sensitive proteins that can detect single photons, exist in the brain and are evolutionarily conserved. Axons may act as photonic waveguides, and oxygen molecules with electronic spin could interface photons and spins. Photon rates appear sufficient to support the bandwidth of experience.