Are sleepwalkers philosophical zombies? Insights and predictions from a quantum model of consciousness

This paper presents a theory of how feedback cooling in the brain reduces thermal noise to the point where macroscale quantum phenomena – crucially Bose–Einstein condensation – can operate at body temperature. It takes the core idea from Stapp that mind and brain interact via some sort of oscillator and identifies a likely candidate, neuronal arrays identified by Stapp as cortical minicolumns. Feedback cooling allows amplifiers to act like refrigerators, and when applied to minicolumns it is suggested they perform as quantum accelerators, solid-state devices able to supercharge standard computers. When the accelerator is idle, as in sleep, we have a neural computer operating unconsciously, but feedback cooling produces a Bose–Einstein condensate, quantum computation, and consciousness. The model explains how macroscale quantum phenomena can operate in a warm and noisy brain, how and why consciousness evolved, and gives insight into unconscious states like sleepwalking. The model is testable, predicting that cold states in the brain are detectable by magnetic resonance thermometry.