---
title: "Quantum mind"
chunk: 3/6
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mind"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:09:33.091099+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

A lot of what the brain does you could do on a computer. I'm not saying that all the brain's action is completely different from what you do on a computer. I am claiming that the actions of consciousness are something different. I'm not saying that consciousness is beyond physics, either—although I'm saying that it's beyond the physics we know now.... My claim is that there has to be something in physics that we don't yet understand, which is very important, and which is of a noncomputational character. It's not specific to our brains; it's out there, in the physical world. But it usually plays a totally insignificant role. It would have to be in the bridge between quantum and classical levels of behavior—that is, where quantum measurement comes in.

=== Umezawa, Vitiello, Freeman ===
Hiroomi Umezawa and collaborators proposed a quantum field theory of memory storage. Giuseppe Vitiello and Walter Freeman proposed a dialog model of the mind. This dialog takes place between the classical and the quantum parts of the brain. Their quantum field theory models of brain dynamics are fundamentally different from the Penrose–Hameroff theory.

==== Quantum brain dynamics ====
As described by Harald Atmanspacher, "Since quantum theory is the most fundamental theory of matter that is currently available, it is a legitimate question to ask whether quantum theory can help us to understand consciousness."

The original motivation in the early 20th century for relating quantum theory to consciousness was essentially philosophical. It is fairly plausible that conscious free decisions ("free will") are problematic in a perfectly deterministic world, so quantum randomness might indeed open up novel possibilities for free will. (On the other hand, randomness is problematic for goal-directed volition!)
Ricciardi and Umezawa proposed in 1967 a general theory of quanta of long-range coherent waves within and between brain cells, and showed a possible mechanism of memory storage and retrieval in terms of Nambu–Goldstone bosons. 
Mari Jibu and Kunio Yasue later popularized these results under the name "quantum brain dynamics" (QBD) as the hypothesis to explain the function of the brain within the framework of quantum field theory with implications on consciousness.

=== Pribram ===
Karl Pribram's holonomic brain theory (quantum holography) invoked quantum field theory to explain higher-order processing of memory in the brain. He argued that his holonomic model solved the binding problem. Pribram collaborated with Bohm in his work on quantum approaches to the thought process. Pribram suggested much of the processing in the brain was done in distributed fashion. He proposed that the fine fibered, felt-like dendritic fields might follow the principles of quantum field theory when storing and retrieving long term memory.

=== Stapp ===
Henry Stapp proposed that quantum waves are reduced only when they interact with consciousness. He argues from the orthodox quantum mechanics of John von Neumann that the quantum state collapses when the observer selects one among the alternative quantum possibilities as a basis for future action. The collapse, therefore, takes place in the expectation that the observer associated with the state. Stapp's work drew criticism from scientists such as David Bourget and Danko Georgiev.