How Meditators Prolong Quantum Coherence in the Brain
All over the world, labs are racing to extend quantum coherence times. If quantum processes are occurring in the brain, is it possible that practices could have been cultivated in the past to lengthen these coherence times to derive specific benefits (without the subjects knowing fully the Science behind it)? Here, we review the practices of meditators.
Quantum Processes in the Brain
Quantum computers use both classical and quantum processors. When the qubits in the quantum processor ‘collapse’ to become classical bits, the data is processed by the classical processor. Human brains may likewise be classical-quantum combos, with the brain’s complex networks of neurons interpreting the classical information that is generated by quantum processes operating in the brain when the wavefunction collapses. Of course, this assumes that there are quantum processes in the human brain. Are there?
Earlier there was speculation as to whether quantum coherence was present in microtubules of neurons where Bose-Einstein condensates could occur, by Hameroff and Penrose. More recently, Fisher provided a model where nuclear spins in phosphorus atoms, which are abundant in the brain, could serve as qubits. (This model has been discussed more fully in the article The Quantum Computer in your Brain.)
Fisher showed that the nuclei of phosphorus atoms could be sufficiently isolated (by the protective cloud of electrons) to preserve quantum coherence for even up to 5 minutes. He found that quantum coherence times could be further extended by shielding them within Posner molecules. These molecules consist of clusters of 6 phosphorus and 9 calcium atoms, which protected the entangled nuclei from outside interference and quantum noise, enabling them to maintain coherence for much longer periods of time — sometimes even up to a day, according to Fisher’s calculations.
Danah Zohar’s characterization of the wave as representing the mind and the particle as the body is a useful one. (Zohar studied Physics and Philosophy at MIT and did postgraduate work in Philosophy, Religion & Psychology at Harvard University.)
While the nuclei of these phosphorus atoms are in a superposed state, existing as waves — they are literally what constitutes the “mind” in the brain.
When these waves collapse, they generate responses from electrons in the phosphorus atoms. Electrons determine the chemical properties of atoms. The ‘’disturbance’’ from the collapse (or change in quantum state) causes the chemical properties of the phosphorus atoms to change, resulting in a cascade of chemical reactions which send neurotransmitters into the synapses of neurons. The train of electrochemical signals then integrate to form a perception, which is interpreted, based on the life-experiences of the person.
Techniques Used by Meditators
Meditators adopt techniques that allow the nuclei of the phosphorus atoms to maintain quantum coherence for longer durations. This gives meditators access to multiple superposed pathways to solutions in extremely short timescales, particularly during ‘analytic meditation’.
Analytic meditation or insight meditation starts with specific questions (generated by the classical processor in the brain) that are then exposed to the quantum processor, which generates insights that results in enlightenment. To ‘experience’ (for want of a better word) enlightenment during meditation, you may only require a second or less of quantum coherence. Meditators have reported ‘’split-second’’ enlightenment. Furthermore, these practices have often been described as being ‘extremely subtle’, alluding to the fragility of the quantum environment. Techniques used by meditators to prolong quantum coherence include the following:
1. Physical and Mental Isolation
Quantum states need an extremely quiet, stable space to operate, as they are easily disturbed by background noise coming from vibrations, temperature changes or stray electromagnetic fields. A common approach to enhance quantum coherence, is to physically isolate the computer from noisy surroundings.
Similarly, traditional meditation protocol advises the individual to withdraw to a quiet place, effectively isolating the person to reduce sensory stimuli. This ‘isolation’ leads to a ‘quieting’ of the mind which reduces quantum noise (in a normal brain which is already capable of maintaining some quantum coherence), allowing quantum processes in the brain to linger.
2. Reducing and Stilling Mental Verbalizations
The most well-known practice about meditation is the discouragement and reduction of mental verbalizations, in the form of conscious ‘verbal’ thoughts in the brain. This reduces ‘mental noise’ and neural activity, more significantly in the left cerebral cortex.
3. Deconceptualisation and Deconstruction
Meditation methods also discourage conceptualizations. These functions are found in the verbal-conceptual association area (VCAA) which sits at the junction of the parietal, occipital and temporal lobes in the brain. The VCAA, according to neuroscientists, Newberg and d’ Aquili, is responsible for the generation of concepts and relating them to words — which generates ‘useful information’.
Physicists now believe that it is the generation of useful information by a detector in an experiment which collapses the wave function. This was confirmed in an experiment conducted by Anton Zeilinger, at the University of Rochester, where it was found that information rather than direct intervention destroys wavelike behavior.
De-conceptualization and the deconstruction of theoretical constructs (which reduces or destroys ‘useful information’) is an integral part of Zen meditation strategy (using ‘koans’) and in many other meditative techniques found in various religions. In the desert religions (i.e., Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) faith is emphasized in the face of conflicting information. This effectively nullifies ‘useful’ information.
Conceptualizations (or mental constructions) are generally considered a hindrance in meditation. This is explicitly stated in Buddhist and Hindu scriptures and commentaries more than 2,000 years old. It has been noted by Newberg and d’Aquili that activities in the VCAA are drastically reduced during advanced meditation.
4. Making Repeated Weak Measurements
A ‘strong measurement’ of a quantum object attempts to be highly accurate in each observation and immediately collapses the quantum wavefunction. On the other hand, it has been recently found that weak measurements can preserve quantum superpositions. An international team of scientists, led by Yakir Aharonov in Tel Aviv University, Israel, used weak measurements to reveal interesting features of superposed quantum states.
A ‘weak measurement’ does not disturb a system significantly, so it remains quantum coherent, but each individual measurement is less accurate. To make up for this, the measurement has to be repeated many times in order to get as close to the real answer as possible. This is similar to the meditative state, which is a relaxed, non-judgmental mental state that makes only weak measurements of the environment repeatedly. This allows quantum coherence to last longer in the brain.
5. Developing Right-Brain Superposed Logic
It has been widely observed that many meditative traditions emphasize the activation and development of the right hemisphere of the brain. In fact, certain neuroscientific studies have shown that various areas in the right hemisphere grow thicker with regular meditation. For example, research led by Sara Lazar, at Massachusetts General Hospital, concluded that most of the brain regions identified to be changed through meditation were found in the right hemisphere.
On the other hand, there was a reduction in left brain activity. This was observed in studies of seven Tibetan Buddhists and several Franciscan nuns. The researchers mapped these subjects’ brains both before and at the peak of their transcendent feelings. During meditation a marked color change was noted in a small region on the left side of the cerebrum called the posterior superior parietal lobule, which is just behind the crown of the skull. The flaming reds had turned into a deep azure, signalling a substantial decline in activity.
Many meditative practices are biased to increase activity in the right cerebral cortex. For example, meditators drastically reduce mental verbalizations and conceptualizations, which are associated more with the left cerebral cortex. Meditation also emphasizes attention, which is governed by the right cerebral cortex. The internal logic of the right cerebral cortex is quite unlike the left cerebral cortex. It exhibits ‘symmetric’ or ‘both-and’ logic — the same logic as that of superposed qubits in a quantum computer. (Read the article Classical Left Brain, Quantum Right Brain? for details.)
7. Using Noise to Counter Unwanted Quantum Noise
A team of scientists at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering have extended quantum coherence 10,000 times longer by introducing noise into the quantum system. In tandem with the usual electromagnetic pulses used to control quantum systems, the team applied an additional continuous alternating magnetic field. By precisely tuning this field, it was possible to rapidly rotate electron spins and allow the system to ‘tune out’ the rest of the noise, extending quantum coherence for up to 22 milliseconds, four orders of magnitude higher than without this technique.
With this approach, we don’t try to eliminate noise in the surroundings; instead, we ‘trick’ the system into thinking it doesn’t experience the noise.
Kevin Miao, Researcher, University of Chicago
This is how, generally, evolution solved the problem with quantum noise in biological systems — for example, during photosynthesis, the most important biochemical reaction on Earth. The same technique has also been exploited by meditators. Mantras and finely tuned rhythmic verbalizations generate frequencies that preserve quantum coherence by tuning out noise within the human brain; just as ‘white noise’, using electronics, is used to ‘scramble’ and ‘neutralize’ unwanted noise from the environment.
8. Avoiding Certain Behaviors
Meditators do not exist in a vacuum. To enhance quantum coherence during meditation, meditators engage and observe behaviors that do not generate a volatile mental environment. Anger, lust, greed, jealousy and the like, create stress and mental fatigue that affects the mental environment, generating noise. When these are avoided, noise and its correlated neural activities subside during meditation, enhancing quantum coherence in the brain.
Conclusion
With the recent progress in quantum biology, there is confidence that quantum processes in the brain will be established and proven, leading to a new understanding of how humans generate radical insights, during meditation, as well as more generally in creative discovery in music, art and science.
Quantum cognition: The possibility of processing with nuclear spins in the brain, Fisher, M. P. A. (2015). Annals of Physics, 362, 593–602.
Consciousness in the universe, Hameroff, S., & Penrose, R. (2014). Physics of Life Reviews, 11(1), 39–78.
The Mystical Mind: Probing the Biology of Religious Experience, Newberg, d’Aquili, 1999.
Universal coherence protection in a solid-state qubit, K.C Miao et al, University of Chicago, Science, Aug 13, 2020. (Scientists discover way to make quantum states last 10,000 times longer, Louise Lerner)
Brains and Realities, Jay Alfred, 2006.
