Cooling down and waking up: feedback cooling switches an unconscious neural computer into a conscious quantum computer
arXiv Preprint Archive August 21, 2023 Andrew Bell
A theory proposes that feedback cooling in the brain switches on consciousness by reducing thermal noise enough for macroscale quantum phenomena—Bose-Einstein condensation and long-range coherence—to operate at body temperature. It suggests that neuronal arrays called cortical minicolumns act like quantum accelerators; when feedback cooling from thalamocortical loops activates them, a Bose-Einstein condensate forms, enabling quantum computation and consciousness. When cooling is idle, as in sleep, the brain operates unconsciously. The model explains how quantum effects can occur in a warm, noisy brain, why consciousness evolved, and clarifies states like sleepwalking. It predicts that cold states in the brain are detectable by magnetic resonance thermometry.