{"id":362,"date":"2025-07-11T02:48:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T02:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/362\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T02:48:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T02:48:04","slug":"quantum-entanglement-in-your-brain-is-what-generates-consciousness-radical-study-suggests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/362\/","title":{"rendered":"Quantum Entanglement in Your Brain Is What Generates Consciousness, Radical Study Suggests"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn when you read this story:<\/p>\n

For the past 30 years, scientists have investigated whether the human brain might require quantum processes to achieve cognition.<\/p>\n

A study from Shanghai University uses mathematical models to suggest that certain fatty structures (which sheath the nerve cell\u2019s axon) could potentially produce quantum entangled biphoton pairs, potentially aiding in synchronization across neurons.<\/p>\n

However, scientists have long argued that the brain is too hot and messy for this type of phenomenon to occur, and detecting this phenomenon as it occurs in the brain would be an incredibly difficult task.<\/p>\n

It has long been argued that the human brain<\/a> is similar to a computer. But in reality, that\u2019s selling the brain pretty short.<\/p>\n

While comparing neurons and transistors is a convenient metaphor (and not completely out of left field), the brain is ultra-efficient, its energy is renewable, and it\u2019s capable of computational feats that even the most advanced computer can\u2019t pull off. In many ways, the inner workings of the human brain make up an unknown computational frontier.<\/p>\n

Although your brain is superior to your laptop\u2014or even the world\u2019s most advanced supercomputer\u2014these machines run on classical physics<\/a>. But there\u2019s another kind of a computer out there: a quantum one.<\/p>\n

The idea that the human brain contains quantum properties isn\u2019t new. In fact, the British physicist Roger Penrose and the American anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff first suggested the controversial concept back in the 90s, with their \u201corchestrated objective reduction<\/a>\u201d model of a consciousness. Since then, many<\/a> pieces<\/a> of<\/a> evidence<\/a> have at least hinted that, while the brain may not be a full-fledged quantum computer<\/a>, some quantum properties may in fact help generate consciousness.<\/p>\n

Now, a new study from Shanghai University submits yet another piece of evidence to the neurological court\u2014that one particular process of the human brain exhibits behavior akin to quantum entanglement, a phenomenon when two particles (usually photons) become inextricably linked even across vast distances. This phenomenon confounded even the most brilliant of minds, including Albert Einstein, who called quantum entanglement \u201cspooky action at a distance<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"news\"<\/p>\n

A closer look at myelin cylinders and its location along the neuron\u2019s axon. Liu et al., Physical Review E, 2024<\/p>\n

The study, published this month in the journal Physics Review E<\/a>, suggests that a fatty material called myelin that surrounding the nerve cell\u2019s axon\u2014the fiber that transmits electrical impulses to other nerves or body tissues\u2014provides an environment in which the entanglement of photons<\/a> is possible. This could potentially explain the rise of cognition, and especially synchronization<\/a>, which is essential for information processing and rapid response.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsciousness within the brain hinges on the synchronized activities of millions of neurons<\/a>, but the mechanism responsible for orchestrating such synchronization remains elusive,\u201d the paper reads. \u201cThe results indicate that the cylindrical cavity formed by a myelin sheath can facilitate spontaneous photon emission from the vibrational modes and generate a significant number of entangled photon pairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team built mathematical models detailing how infrared photons could impact the myelin sheath and impart energy<\/a> to chemical bonds\u2014specifically, carbon-hydrogen bonds embedded in this fatty tissue. This, in turn, could spur biphoton generation with many pairs exhibiting entanglement, and serve as a type of \u201cquantum communication resource\u201d within the nervous system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a brain is active, millions of neurons fire simultaneously,\u201d Yong-Cong Chen, a co-author of the study, told New Scientist<\/a>. \u201cIf the power of evolution<\/a> was looking for handy action over a distance, quantum entanglement would be [an] ideal candidate for this role.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re sensing some \u201cwoah, if true\u201d quality to this research, you\u2019re not alone. For one, this phenomenon<\/a> would need to be seen in a biological setting (likely in the brain of a mouse) before scientists get too excited about the brain\u2019s newfound \u201cquantum communication resource.\u201d And that\u2019s a process that the authors readily admit would be difficult. Additionally, the idea of quantum entanglement playing a role in consciousness isn\u2019t a mainstream one\u2014Hameroff, one the leading minds behind the idea that quantum phenomena could drive aspects of cognition, even told New Scientist months ago<\/a> that \u201cit was very popular to bash us\u201d after the publication of their consciousness model.<\/p>\n

But science is in the business of hypothesis<\/a> and rigorous testing to discern the true nature of existence. And, as history has shown, what once seemed liked \u201cspooky action a distance\u201d can quickly become the cornerstone of the quantum world. <\/p>\n

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