The ‘Conscious Pilot’ Stuart Hameroff University of Arizona

Non-conscious/ Unconscious Conscious

• Chalmers Easy problems Hard problem• Crick/Koch Zombie modes Consciousness • Block (?) Access Cs. Phenomenal Cs. • McCrone Habitual Conscious• Hodgson Auto-pilot

Non-conscious/ Unconscious Conscious

• Chalmers Easy problems Hard problem• Crick/Koch Zombie modes Consciousness • Block (?) Access Cs. Phenomenal Cs. • McCrone Habitual Conscious• Hodgson Auto-pilot Conscious pilot (SH)

Cognitive brain functions are conducted in either non-conscious or conscious modes

• Sensory processing• Control of behavior• Learning• Memory• Attention• Sleep• Eye movements• Visceral/Sexual functions…either accompanied by consciousness, or not …what is the distinction?

Cognitive brain functions are conducted in either non-conscious or conscious modes

• Sensory processing• Control of behavior• Learning• Memory• Attention• Sleep• Eye movements• Visceral/Sexual functions…either accompanied by consciousness, or not …what is the distinction?

Gamma synchrony EEG

Non-conscious/ Unconscious

• Chalmers Easy problems • Crick/Koch Zombie modes • Block (?) Access Cs. • McCrone Habitual • Hodgson Auto-pilot

…are accounted for by neuronal network computation based on axonal-dendritic feed-forward and feed-back synaptic networks….Brain as computer with neuronal firings as ‘bits’ …..classical ‘neuro’computation…

We can explain the non-conscious computerized activities of the auto-pilot

We can explain the non-conscious computerized activities of the auto-pilot

By computation in brain neuronal networks

Ramon-y-Cajal:brain composed of individual cells – “neurons”

Computing in the brain…

Integrate

Fire

What about consciousness?

We can explain the computerized activities of the auto-pilot

Where’s the pilot?

The conscious pilot (NCC) is dendritic synchrony,

moving through the brain’s neuronal networks

to mediate consciousness

Where in the brain does consciousness occur?

BING!!!

Consciousness with attention involves activity in both prefrontal and posterior regions.. …top-down, bottom-up, recurrent feedback ….more or less global

But sensations of pure color arise from isolated activity in visual cortex color area V4 (Zeki)

BING!!!

Deeper emotional feelings occur in emotional core

BING!!!

Dopaminergic paths in VTA/nucleus accumbens cingulate/limbic

“emotional core”

So some process/activity is specific for consciousness

In the brain consciousness can occur • Globally (e.g. attention-mediated, bottom-up/top-down; ?holographic)

• Locally (e.g. Zeki and pure color experience in V4)

• Regionally (posterior cortex, e.g. Malach; brainstem/limbic, Panksepp, Damasio)

‘Here, there or everywhere’

In the brain consciousness can occur • Globally (e.g. attention-mediated, bottom-up/top-down; ?holographic)

• Locally (e.g. Zeki and pure color experience in V4)

• Regionally (posterior cortex, e.g. Malach; brainstem/limbic, Panksepp, Damasio)

‘Here, there or everywhere’Accompanied by gamma synchrony EEG

Sideways Synchrony

Neuronal network dendrites linked by gap junctions (“dendritic webs”) depolarize coherently in gamma synchrony

Dendritic post-synaptic potentials are synchronized, may drive coherent spikes

BING

BING

BING

BING

Sideways synchrony Dendritic webs embedded in neuronal networks

…allowing collective, synchronized integration phases in laterally-connected input/integration layers

BING BING BING

BING!!!

The Halle Berry neuron (Koch)

BING!!! BING!!! BING!!!

BING!!! BING!!! BING!!!

BING!!! BING!!! BING!!! FIRE

In the brain..

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

BING!!!

CPU

Top/Up (Frontal cortex)

BING!!!

Down/Bottom (Thalamus; Posterior cortex)

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Top (Frontal cortex)

Intermediate BING!!! (Jackendoff, Gray) “Handshake”

Bottom (Thalamus; Posterior cortex)

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Top (Frontal cortex)Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Consciousness

ExecutiveCortex

Sensory Inputs

Emotions

Memory

Thalamo-corticalProjections

Cortex

Thalamus

Bottom Thalamus; Posterior cortex)

BING!!! BING!!!

BING!!!

BING!!!

BING!!!

BING!!! BING!!! BING!!!

W H E R E‘S

T H E

B I N G

?

Caffeine THC Marijuana LSD

Nicotine MDMA Ecstasy Chocolate

Psychoactive drugs have quantum ring structures

,

                         

                            

Conscious Anesthetized

…in which anesthetic gases act via quantum London forces to selectively erase consciousness Hameroff S (2006) Anesthesiology 105:400-412

Proteins involved in conscious processes have quantum pockets controlling state: “Schrödinger’s proteins”

Where’s the BING?

quantum superposition of different states

Consciousness is linked to quantum gravity/ fundamental spacetime geometry

Quantum superpositions which avoid decoherence grow to meet threshold Sir Roger Penrose given by E=h/t, undergo spontaneous “self-collapse” objective reduction a fundamental moment of consciousness Consciousness IS a sequence of quantum state reductions (e.g. Whitehead, Henry Stapp)

BING!!!

B ING

BING!!! BING!!! BING!!! BING!!!

BING!!! BING!!! BING!!! BING!!!

By E=h/t, a 25 msec gamma synchrony moment of consciousness requires superposition of tubulins in ~100,000 neurons

But the brain is too warm and wet for delicate quantum effects !? Decoherence Max Tegmark calculated microtubule decoherence Time based on solitons of 10-13 seconds, too brief.

Considering Orch OR stipulations

• Superposition separation of atomic nucleus diameter, 7 orders of magnitude more stable

• Debye plasma layer surrounding/shielding microtubules

• Ordered water polymerized actin gel state embedding microtubules

• Laser-like Frohlich pumped coherence

• Topological quantum error correction

• Hydrophobic pocket London forces

Hagan, Hameroff and Tuszynski, Physical Reviews E, 2002 65:061901          

Tubulin subunits have negatively charged tails extending outward, attracting positive ions and creating a Debye plasma layer shield

Quantum London forces are protected within hydrophobic pockets

Microtubules are transiently Embedded in dense actin gel (lower left); Isolated from environment

                                            

Microtubule Fibonacci lattice may be ideally designed for topological quantum error tolerance/correction (Penrose, 1998)

Theory is nice, but…Engel et al Nature 446, 782-786, 2007 Evidence for wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence in photosynthetic systems

Quantum coherence in protein scaffolding surroundingchlorophyll structures in photosynthesis at warm temperatures

Ouyang & Awschalom (Science 301:1074-78, 2003) studied quantum spin transfer between quantum dots connected by benzene rings (the same as in electron resonance amino acids)

and observed superposition of the spin states….

Where’s the BING?

OR

BING

Essence of experience was embedded in fundamental spacetime geometry,reproduced in the brain

BING!!

Mind Matter

Objective Decoherence or Reduction Measurement

Quantum Spacetime

Neutral MonismQuantum Consciousness

Conclusions

• Dendritic synchrony moves through the brain’s neurocomputational networks to mediate consciousness – the ‘conscious pilot’ (NCC)

Conclusions

• Dendritic synchrony moves through the brain’s neurocomputational networks to mediate consciousness – the ‘conscious pilot’ (NCC)

Is conscious experience thick or thin?

It depends on the conscious pilot

Conclusions

• Dendritic synchrony moves through the brain’s neurocomputational networks to mediate consciousness – the ‘conscious pilot’ (NCC)

• Quantum computations in microtubules are coupled to dendritic synchrony by Penrose OR.

Conclusions

• Dendritic synchrony moves through the brain’s neurocomputational networks to mediate consciousness – the ‘conscious pilot’ (NCC)

• Quantum computations in microtubules are coupled to dendritic synchrony by Penrose OR.

• To solve the ‘hard problem’, consciousness must be considered as a process in fundamental spacetime geometry coupled to brain function (psychophysical bridging to pan-protopsychism)

www.quantumconsciousness.org

BING!!!