Experimental evidence of non-classical brain functions

Abstract

Brain functions depend on cerebral transport mechanisms which are evidently propelled and regulated throughout the entire brain [1]. It is generally believed that the main driving force is the cardiac pulse [2] which, after arrival in the brain, travels effortlessly from the arterial into the veinous system seemingly leaving out what is in-between: namely the capillaries and the tissue, which both consist of a flow volume many magnitudes larger with a higher flow resistance than that of the blood vessels. If a pulsatile flow hits both the capillaries and the tissue [3], which are non-pulsatile regimes without vascular smooth musculature, then it should react like a small wave hitting a big inert mass. As a result, the wave should lose energy in a scattering process leading to damping, dispersion and reflection. However, the pulse exits the brain un-scattered [4] leaving us with the open question of what then drives cerebral dynamics. Here, we wanted to shed light on this mystery by studying microscopic parameters of cerebral dynamics. As such, we aimed to observe variations in Landau's order parameter [5] which may be accessible via multiple spin echos (MSE) [6]. We found MSE oscillations which appeared in brain tissue simultaneously with the arterial pulse. Those oscillations showed remarkable time pattern which revealed the spontaneous character of the underlying physiological mechanism. Our finding can be interpreted as a spontaneous symmetry breaking of the order parameter [7]; a phenomenon also occurring in superfluids. Superfluidity in cerebral dynamics has been recently discussed [8] as a possible answer to what may drive cerebral flow. It would give an eloquent explanation for the still controversially discussed cerebral autoregulation [9] because in superfluidity, heat would drive the flow [10] and not the cardiac pulse. Furthermore, a superfluid would flow dispersion-free whereby membranes would be of no obstacle because superfluids leak through every pore [11,12].

Phage composition of a fermented milk and colostrum product assessed by microbiome array; putative role of open reading frames in reference to cell signaling and neurological development

“…Although the concept of quantum entanglement may appear esoteric and distant from the daily routine of biological entities, quantum coherence and entanglement are at work in phenomena such as the origin of life (38), photosynthesis, a process at the basis of today's life on this planet (39), biology of the retina (40), bird navigation in the skies (41), fish communication in the water (42), and human consciousness (for reference in addition to Hameroff et al (34), see a recent study using Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the human brain (43). It is therefore of interest to consider that each phenomenon of quantum entanglement is associated with formation of a wormhole through the geometry of entanglement (44), a phenomenon that could explain the apparent reversal of direction of time in the experiments of Mothersill et al, a reversal of time described by the Authors as "temporally displaced awareness after the fish become entangled" (42).…”

Complexity analysis of heartbeat-related signals in Brain MRI time series as a potential biomarker for ageing and cognitive performance

“…Initially, one may think that differences between both groups can be due to old participants moving more inside the scanner. In fact, Kerskens and López Pérez [19] reported that during hyperventilation inside the scanner the ZQC effect entirely vanished due to increased movement. Although the information was not available for the young group, motion quality control variables from an fMRI study within the same session did not correlate with any of the non-linear parameters (see Table 2).…”

“…In addition, two saturation slices of 5 mm in thickness were placed parallel to the imaging slice (15 mm above and 20 mm below). These slabs were applied to introduce asymmetrical magnetic gradient scheme for the ZQC contrast (for a full description see [19]). Additional scans without the saturation slabs using the same imaging parameters were carried out which had two effects on the ZQC; a change of the angulation between the asymmetric gradient field and the main magnet field towards the magic angle and a lengthening of the ZQC correlation distance.…”

“…The radiographer always contacted the participants before the acquisition to make sure that they were awake. This step is important given that the ZQC signal has been suggested to be sensitive to changes in wakefulness of the participant [19].…”

“…MRI is generally sensitive for phase transition which is reflected in T1 and T2 relaxation changes but Kerskens and López Pérez [19] focussed on exotic phase transition with long-range effects which can be detected with multiple-quantum coherence (MQC). Using a MRI time-series acquisition, they found fluctuations in the brain, whose underlying mechanism was related to the zero-quantum coherence (ZQC) properties of the magnetic resonance signal [19]. Those fluctuations were evoked by the heartbeat only during wakefulness, which underpins its importance for consciousness and cognition.Quantum coherence has not traditionally been considered as a powerful tuning element for enhancing or explaining functions in biology [20]).…”