Proposed Tests for Detecting Quantum Effects in Biological Neural Systems

Several quantum biological effects in neural systems have been proposed. The first is Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR), which involves entanglement in tubulin. The second is quantum electron transport in catecholaminergic neuron groups, such as those of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and locus coeruleus (LC). Tests are proposed that use semiconductor quantum dot (QD) devices in live neural tissue to detect these quantum biological effects.

Sequential Measurement of Displacement and Conduction Currents in Electronic Devices

The extension of the Ramo–Schockley–Pellegrini theorem for quantum systems allows to define a positive-operator valued measure (POVM) for the total conduction plus displacement electrical current. The resulting current operator is characterized by two parameters, viz. the width of the associated Gaussian functions and the lapse of time between consecutive measurements. For large Gaussian dispersions and small time intervals, the operator obeys to a continuous weak-measurement scheme. Contrarily, in the limit of very narrow Gaussian widths and a single-shot measurement, the operator corresponds to a standard von Neumann (projective) measurement. We have implemented the resulting measurement protocol into a quantum electron transport simulator. Numerical results for a resonant tunneling diode show the great sensibility of current–voltage characteristics to different parameter configurations of the total current operator.