Could the brain be a quantum computer?
Christoph Simon, University of Calgary
Quantum physics offers advantages for information processing. Could biological evolution have discovered ways to exploit them? Motivated in part by this question, I will discuss spins and photons as possible ingredients for quantum information processing in biology.
The radical pair mechanism provides a concrete example of how quantum spin dynamics can influence biochemical reactions. I will present recent experiments on microtubule assembly and superoxide production that confirm predictions of our radical-pair models. I will then turn to the ultraweak light emitted by living systems, its possible role in biological signaling, and the proposal that axons could serve as optical waveguides.
If the brain has access to such quantum hardware, how might it use it? I will explore this question through our quantum reservoir computing studies, including an attention-like task, and analyze the role of entanglement. Finally, I will outline open questions.
Quantum computing in the brain remains speculative, but investigating its potential ingredients is already yielding results in both biology and quantum machine learning.
About the speaker
Christoph Simon is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary, where he is a member of both the Institute for Quantum Science and Technology and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. He has made well-known contributions to fundamental tests of quantum physics, quantum technology (especially quantum networks), and most recently to quantum biology.
Location
QNC 0101
Light refreshments will be provided.
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