[ExI] Qualia/Consciousness

[citta437 at aol.com]

>From "Inside our Mind"

" Quantum mechanics describes the seemingly bizarre behavior of matter 
and energy at microscopic scales, e.g. that of atoms and sub-atomic 
particles. At that level particles may be in two or more places at the 
same time (quantum superposition), and particles widely separated in 
distance may nonetheless be intimately connected (quantum 
entanglement). These properties are used in quantum computation which 
offers potential solutions to the enigmatic features of consciousness. 
However quantum computation is disrupted by interactions with the 
environment ("decoherence"), and neurons and synapses seem too large 
for delicate quantum effects.
      But neurons may be far more complicated than mere switches. If we 
look inside neurons and other cells, we see highly ordered networks 
(the "cytoskeleton") comprised of microtubules and other filamentous 
structures which organize cellular activities. Microtubules are 
cylindrical polymers of the protein tubulin arranged in hexagonal 
lattices comprising the cylinder wall. Cooperative interactions among 
tubulin subunits within microtubules have been suggested to process 
information, as in molecular scale "cellular automata". As the states 
of tubulin are controlled by quantum mechanical internal forces (van 
der Waals London forces), they may exist in quantum superposition of 
multiple states ("quantum bits, or "qubits"), and microtubules may be 
seen as quantum computers involved in cellular organization."

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Hope the above explanation help what cannot be seen in an MRI but a 
neuroscientist will be able to discuss it with clarity than I do.
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