Desperately Seeking Substrate

Ten years ago you would have found me looking for the NCC - the neural corraltes of consciousness - but nowadays it would be more accurate to say that we are looking for the underlying layers of whatever upon which consciousness exists.

At the head of the charge to look for consciousness at the quantum level is Stuart Hameroff. Hameroff, a professional anethesiologist, has written several compelling papers arguing that quantum-level effects (like tunneling), especially in cellular structures know as microtubules, are critical in explaining the phenomenon of consciousness. Hameroff's recent publication is the latest salvo in the ongoing battle with the 'traditional' neurocomputationalists.

Anything involving differentials or the disruption thereof is of interest to the inhabitants of Smearland, so we cannot ignore the significance of neurocomputational models and data. But we are looking for differentials that can explain 'random' quantum-level state selection. So Hameroff's attempts to integrate quantum-level activity into the not-entirely explanatory neurocomputational models meet with applause in Smearland.

To be sure, there are still some shortcomings in his model... "The fate of isolated quantum superpositions remains unexplained; Penrose OR (Penrose, 1989; 1994; 1996) is one tentative proposal which is testable, and can also account for consciousness. It is true, as Litt et al state, that if Penrose OR is proven correct then quantum theory would have to be rewritten. But quantum theory as it stands is incomplete: it must be rewritten." ... and he does invoke the infamous 'E' word, which we have thusfar largely avoided mentioning in this blog. He also glosses over the actual problem of state selection. 'Objective Reduction' should imply that something rule-based would govern the process of state selection. And, while the hypothetical construct of quantum gravity might be one place to look for such a mechanism...

Might I suggest that we look at the phenomenological data in an attempt to get a clearer picture of what drives state selection?