Quantum Entanglement in the Brain? Evidence from Science!

In this blog article, I want to talk about quantum entanglement in the brain. Some people may roll their eyes with disgust at this topic, because it has been pejoratively related to pseudoscience and mystical worldviews of the New Age type. But as a man of the scientific method and Christianity, I am not here to promote pseudoscience nor New Age spirituality. I simply want to discuss the possibility of quantum mechanics in the brain, which I am aware has been viewed with a lot of skepticism. 

In recent years, scientists from the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and the University of Dublin tested this in the brain. Their open access report is titled: Experimental Indications of Non-Classical Brain Functions. It is hyperlinked for your easy access. Elizabeth Fernandez wrote about this at a website called Big Think back in November of 2022. Since this popped up in my news feed not long ago, I figured I should rehash this. 

I want to actually try to dive into the journal article, but I have to admit that I do not fully understand this issue. I intend to do my best. In my YouTube video, I welcomed corrections from anyone adequately educated on quantum mechanics and neuroscience. I still want to leave that door open.

Get Ready to Dive In: 

The authors clearly state: 

“The aim of this study was to find evidence that brain functions can create entanglement in auxiliary quantum systems.” 

What is entanglement? Basically, entanglement is when a pair of particles affect each other even when they are greatly distanced from each other. I do not know what is actually meant by “auxiliary quantum systems” but my best guess is this: auxiliary means additional support and quantum systems deal with the enigmatically small stuff, the stuff that is smaller than the atom. A photon of light or an electron of electricity have been referred to as quantum because they are the “smallest discrete units of the phenomenon.”

MRI scanning was used to control or restrain single quantum coherence and zero quantum coherence at the same time. I am not entirely sure I understand single quantum coherence and zero quantum coherence, but I think I at least understand coherence in physics simply to mean the “potential for two waves to interfere”. Imagine two wave patterns emitting from two slits, and the two wave patterns bump into each other. 

With the use of spectroscopic technology, the local magnetic fields of the nuclei in atoms were found spiking with every heartbeat, and the scientists showed “that the signal contrast originated from spin-spin interactions” thereby leading them to say that quantum entanglement could have been witnessed in the brain. 

The sensory systems we identify with the information-processing that induces awareness involves quantum mechanics, of which the report mentions our magneto-reception, which is an organism’s ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field. And it is suggested that “entangled radical electron pairs” are involved with explaining the sensitivity or size of change in measurement outcomes of magneto-reception. 

A particular quantum property called nuclear spin is said to determine “complex brain functionalities.” The level of nuclear spin in lithium isotopes is said to intensify complex behavior and impact chemical reactions, leading to outcomes on the macroscopic scale. Macroscopic is a fancy way of saying “visible with the naked eye.” 

In 2018, the National Library of Medicine reported that anesthetic potency in a chemical element called xenon was tested according to its spin number. The lower potency numbers were determined by their involvement in conscious processing, thereby having the authors conclude that their results agree with theories suggesting quantum mechanisms in consciousness.

In spite of all that, they admit it is still unknown whether “macroscopic systems in the brain can be non-classical.”

Conclusion

So, what do they mean when they say the goal was to find out if the brain is “non-classical”? First of all, what I think it means for the brain to be classical is to define it as a mere piece of anatomy in pre-20th Century Newtonian terms obeying the principle of locality, which means the brain is only affected by whatever currently surrounds it. Your brain cannot affect nor be affected by anything from long distances away, unlike your cell phone that connects with another cellphone miles away. 

However,

The authors argue that there is experimental evidence for quantum entanglement in brain processes, and that the ZQC signals were non-local, meaning they were opposite of the principle of locality. The signals were identifiable alongside diminished classical signals representing the large stuff that are opposite of the enigmatically small stuff like the spin of an electron or photon. And those ZQC signals resemble the heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEP), which is a brain response to each heartbeat, something that is also very responsive to things such as motivation, attention, and pain which are connected with higher levels of arousal.  

Elizabeth Fernandez made some statements that reflect my interpretation. She had a correspondence with Christian Matthias Kerskens, who is one of the study’s authors, and quotes him saying, “The HEP is an electrophysiological event, like alpha or beta waves. The HEP is tied to consciousness because it depends on awareness.” Apparently, he is basing that on HEPs being present during conscious awareness and vanishing when the subjects fell asleep during the MRI. 

I will end this by quoting Elizabeth Fernandez’ final paragraph:

“Seeing entanglement in the brain may show that the brain is not classical, as previously thought, but rather a powerful quantum system. If the results can be confirmed, they could provide some indication that the brain uses quantum processes. This could begin to shed light on how our brain performs the powerful computations it does, and how it manages consciousness.”

Image credits of the electric brain belong to: TheDigitalArtist - Pixabay

The author of this blog post is Matthew Sabatine, who was born in the United States and raised as a Christian but left the faith in his early twenties. He returned to the faith midway through 2022. Matthew has some experience in the mental health field as a direct support professional, caring for people with intellectual and development disabilities and people who were in long-term residency/rehabilitation programs. Though Matthew has no formal undergraduate or graduate degree, he has experience co-facilitating therapy groups under the supervision of licensed counselors. Matthew currently works in sales/marketing by day and blogs on his free time at night.

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