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Pu Z, Wu Y, Zhu Z, Zhao H, Cui D. A new horizon for neuroscience: terahertz biotechnology in brain research. Neural Regen Res 2025; 20:309-325. [PMID: 38819036 DOI: 10.4103/nrr.nrr-d-23-00872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Terahertz biotechnology has been increasingly applied in various biomedical fields and has especially shown great potential for application in brain sciences. In this article, we review the development of terahertz biotechnology and its applications in the field of neuropsychiatry. Available evidence indicates promising prospects for the use of terahertz spectroscopy and terahertz imaging techniques in the diagnosis of amyloid disease, cerebrovascular disease, glioma, psychiatric disease, traumatic brain injury, and myelin deficit. In vitro and animal experiments have also demonstrated the potential therapeutic value of terahertz technology in some neuropsychiatric diseases. Although the precise underlying mechanism of the interactions between terahertz electromagnetic waves and the biosystem is not yet fully understood, the research progress in this field shows great potential for biomedical noninvasive diagnostic and therapeutic applications. However, the biosafety of terahertz radiation requires further exploration regarding its two-sided efficacy in practical applications. This review demonstrates that terahertz biotechnology has the potential to be a promising method in the field of neuropsychiatry based on its unique advantages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengping Pu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Psychiatry, Kangci Hospital of Jiaxing, Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yu Wu
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Interfacial Physics and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhongjie Zhu
- National Facility for Protein Science in Shanghai, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongwei Zhao
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Interfacial Physics and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, China
| | - Donghong Cui
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
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2
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Thangamani A, Arumuganainar D. Emergence of information processing in biological systems and the origin of life. Commun Integr Biol 2024; 17:2373301. [PMID: 38993680 PMCID: PMC11238918 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2024.2373301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
As every life form is composed of cells, elements of consciousness, namely memory and sentience, must be grounded in mechanisms that are integral to unicellular organisms. Earlier studies indicated that cellular cytoskeletal structures consisting of excitable, flexible, and oscillating polymers such as microtubules, along with quantum events, are potentially responsible for information processing and thus consciousness. This work attempts to solve the unknown, that is, how, at the spark of life, the phenomenon of cellular information processing first appears. This study posits that the spatially distributed wave energy of the molecules of an incepting cell interacts with space and generates a rotating bioinformation field, forming a vortex. This vortex, the local energy maximum, whose inbound and outbound energy fluxes represent signal reception and dispersal, is a critical step in the spark of life responsible for information storage, and with incremental wave superpositions, exhibits information processing. The vorticity of the rotating field is computed, and the obtained field characteristics indicated the emergence of a prebiotic complex to initiate information processing. Furthermore, the developed system model explains how perturbations from the environment are converted into response signals for the emanation of sense, locomotion, nutrition, and asexual reproduction, the fundamental evolutionary building blocks of prokaryotes. Further research directions include explaining how the energy potential available in the bio-information field and the vortex leads to the first formation of genetic material, emergence of cytoskeleton, and extension of bio-information field to multi-cellular organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arunvel Thangamani
- Interdisciplinary, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
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3
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Mashour GA. Anesthesia and the neurobiology of consciousness. Neuron 2024; 112:1553-1567. [PMID: 38579714 PMCID: PMC11098701 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
In the 19th century, the discovery of general anesthesia revolutionized medical care. In the 21st century, anesthetics have become indispensable tools to study consciousness. Here, I review key aspects of the relationship between anesthesia and the neurobiology of consciousness, including interfaces of sleep and anesthetic mechanisms, anesthesia and primary sensory processing, the effects of anesthetics on large-scale functional brain networks, and mechanisms of arousal from anesthesia. I discuss the implications of the data derived from the anesthetized state for the science of consciousness and then conclude with outstanding questions, reflections, and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- George A Mashour
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, Department of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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4
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Mould RR, Mackenzie AM, Kalampouka I, Nunn AVW, Thomas EL, Bell JD, Botchway SW. Ultra weak photon emission-a brief review. Front Physiol 2024; 15:1348915. [PMID: 38420619 PMCID: PMC10899412 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1348915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Cells emit light at ultra-low intensities: photons which are produced as by-products of cellular metabolism, distinct from other light emission processes such as delayed luminescence, bioluminescence, and chemiluminescence. The phenomenon is known by a large range of names, including, but not limited to, biophotons, biological autoluminescence, metabolic photon emission and ultraweak photon emission (UPE), the latter of which shall be used for the purposes of this review. It is worth noting that the photons when produced are neither 'weak' nor specifically biological in characteristics. Research of UPE has a long yet tattered past, historically hamstrung by a lack of technology sensitive enough to detect it. Today, as technology progresses rapidly, it is becoming easier to detect and image these photons, as well as to describe their function. In this brief review we will examine the history of UPE research, their proposed mechanism, possible biological role, the detection of the phenomenon, and the potential medical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhys R Mould
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alasdair M Mackenzie
- OCTOPUS, Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Didcot, United Kingdom
| | - Ifigeneia Kalampouka
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alistair V W Nunn
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
- The Guy Foundation, Beaminster, United Kingdom
| | - E Louise Thomas
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jimmy D Bell
- Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stanley W Botchway
- OCTOPUS, Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Didcot, United Kingdom
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5
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Truglia B, Carbone N, Ghadre I, Vallero S, Zito M, Zizzi EA, Deriu MA, Tuszynski JA. An In Silico Investigation of the Molecular Interactions between Volatile Anesthetics and Actin. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 17:37. [PMID: 38256871 PMCID: PMC10819646 DOI: 10.3390/ph17010037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Volatile anesthetics (VAs) are medicinal chemistry compounds commonly used to enable surgical procedures for patients who undergo painful treatments and can be partially or fully sedated, remaining in an unconscious state during the operation. The specific molecular mechanism of anesthesia is still an open issue, but scientific evidence supports the hypothesis of the involvement of both putative hydrophobic cavities in membrane receptors as binding pockets and interactions between anesthetics and cytoplasmic proteins. Previous studies demonstrated the binding of VAs to tubulin. Since actin is the other major component of the cytoskeleton, this study involves an investigation of its interactions with four major anesthetics: halothane, isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane. Molecular docking was implemented using the Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software (version 2022.02) and applied to a G-actin monomer, extrapolating the relative binding affinities and root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values. A comparison with the F-actin was also made to assess if the generally accepted idea about the enhanced F-to-G-actin transformation during anesthesia is warranted. Overall, our results confirm the solvent-like behavior of anesthetics, as evidenced by Van der Waals interactions as well as the relevant hydrogen bonds formed in the case of isoflurane and sevoflurane. Also, a comparison of the interactions of anesthetics with tubulin was made. Finally, the short- and long-term effects of anesthetics are discussed for their possible impact on the occurrence of mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Sara Vallero
- DIMEAS, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
| | | | | | | | - J. A. Tuszynski
- DIMEAS, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
- Department of Data Science and Engineering, The Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
- Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
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6
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Fushimi T, Hirahata C, Hiroki K, Fujii Y, Calabrese V, Suhara Y, Osakabe N. Activation of transient receptor potential channels is involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent regulation of blood flow by (-)-epicatechin tetramer cinnamtannin A2. Biochem Pharmacol 2023:115682. [PMID: 37429424 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2023.115682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Intervention trials confirmed that blood flow-mediated dilatation increases significantly after intake of astringent (-)-epicatechin (EC) oligomers (procyanidins)-rich foods, but the mechanism remains unclear. We have previously found that procyanidins can activate the sympathetic nervous and subsequently increase blood flow. Here, we examined whether procyanidin-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) activate transient receptor potential (TRP) channels in gastrointestinal sensory nerves and consequently induce sympathoexcitation. We evaluated the redox properties of EC and its tetramer cinntamtannin A2 (A2) at pH 5 or 7, mimicking plant vacuole or oral cavity/small intestine using a luminescent probe. At pH 5, A2 or EC showed O2・- scavenging ability, but they promoted O2・- generation at pH 7. We observed blood flow in rat cremaster arterioles using laser Doppler, a single oral dose of 10 µg/kg A2 markedly increased blood flow, while EC showed little activity. This change with A2 was significantly dampened by co-administration of adrenaline blocker, ROS scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), TRP vanilloid 1, or ankyrin 1 antagonist. We also performed a docking simulation of EC or A2 with the binding site of a typical ligand for each TRP channel and calculated the respective binding affinities. The binding energies were notably higher for A2 than typical ligands, suggesting that A2 is less likely to bind to these sites. ROS produced at neutral pH following the orally administered A2 to the gastrointestinal tract could activate TRP channels, triggering sympathetic hyperactivation and causing hemodynamic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taiki Fushimi
- Functional Control Systems, Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology
| | - Chie Hirahata
- Systems Engineering and Science, Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology
| | - Kento Hiroki
- Department of Bio-science and Engineering, Faculty of System Science and Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology
| | - Yasuyuki Fujii
- Department of Bio-science and Engineering, Faculty of System Science and Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology
| | - Vittorio Calabrese
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95125 Catania
| | - Yoshitomo Suhara
- Functional Control Systems, Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology; Systems Engineering and Science, Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology; Department of Bio-science and Engineering, Faculty of System Science and Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology
| | - Naomi Osakabe
- Functional Control Systems, Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology; Systems Engineering and Science, Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology; Department of Bio-science and Engineering, Faculty of System Science and Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology.
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7
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Kippenberger S, Pipa G, Steinhorst K, Zöller N, Kleemann J, Özistanbullu D, Kaufmann R, Scheller B. Learning in the Single-Cell Organism Physarum polycephalum: Effect of Propofol. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076287. [PMID: 37047260 PMCID: PMC10094176 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Propofol belongs to a class of molecules that are known to block learning and memory in mammals, including rodents and humans. Interestingly, learning and memory are not tied to the presence of a nervous system. There are several lines of evidence indicating that single-celled organisms also have the capacity for learning and memory which may be considered as basal intelligence. Here, we introduce a new experimental model for testing the learning ability of Physarum polycephalum, a model organism frequently used to study single-celled “intelligence”. In this study, the impact of propofol on Physarum’s “intelligence” was tested. The model consists of a labyrinth of subsequent bifurcations in which food (oat flakes soaked with coconut oil-derived medium chain triglycerides [MCT] and soybean oil-derived long chain triglycerides [LCT]) or propofol in MCT/LCT) is placed in one of each Y-branch. In this setting, it was tested whether Physarum memorized the rewarding branch. We saw that Physarum was a quick learner when capturing the first bifurcations of the maze; thereafter, the effect decreased, perhaps due to reaching a state of satiety. In contrast, when oat flakes were soaked with propofol, Physarum’s preference for oat flakes declined significantly. Several possible actions, including the blocking of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor signaling, are suggested to account for this behavior, many of which can be tested in our new model.
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8
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Kalra A, Benny A, Travis SM, Zizzi EA, Morales-Sanchez A, Oblinsky DG, Craddock TJA, Hameroff SR, MacIver MB, Tuszyński JA, Petry S, Penrose R, Scholes GD. Electronic Energy Migration in Microtubules. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2023; 9:352-361. [PMID: 36968538 PMCID: PMC10037452 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.2c01114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The repeating arrangement of tubulin dimers confers great mechanical strength to microtubules, which are used as scaffolds for intracellular macromolecular transport in cells and exploited in biohybrid devices. The crystalline order in a microtubule, with lattice constants short enough to allow energy transfer between amino acid chromophores, is similar to synthetic structures designed for light harvesting. After photoexcitation, can these amino acid chromophores transfer excitation energy along the microtubule like a natural or artificial light-harvesting system? Here, we use tryptophan autofluorescence lifetimes to probe energy hopping between aromatic residues in tubulin and microtubules. By studying how the quencher concentration alters tryptophan autofluorescence lifetimes, we demonstrate that electronic energy can diffuse over 6.6 nm in microtubules. We discover that while diffusion lengths are influenced by tubulin polymerization state (free tubulin versus tubulin in the microtubule lattice), they are not significantly altered by the average number of protofilaments (13 versus 14). We also demonstrate that the presence of the anesthetics etomidate and isoflurane reduce exciton diffusion. Energy transport as explained by conventional Förster theory (accommodating for interactions between tryptophan and tyrosine residues) does not sufficiently explain our observations. Our studies indicate that microtubules are, unexpectedly, effective light harvesters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aarat
P. Kalra
- Department
of Chemistry, New Frick Chemistry Building, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey08544, United States
| | - Alfy Benny
- Department
of Chemistry, New Frick Chemistry Building, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey08544, United States
| | - Sophie M. Travis
- Department
of Molecular Biology, Schultz Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey08544, United States
| | - Eric A. Zizzi
- Department
of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Torino10129, Italy
| | - Austin Morales-Sanchez
- Department
of Chemistry, New Frick Chemistry Building, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey08544, United States
| | - Daniel G. Oblinsky
- Department
of Chemistry, New Frick Chemistry Building, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey08544, United States
| | - Travis J. A. Craddock
- Departments
of Psychology & Neuroscience, Computer Science, and Clinical Immunology, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida33314, United States
| | - Stuart R. Hameroff
- Department
of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona85721, United States
| | - M. Bruce MacIver
- Department
of Anesthesiology, Stanford University School
of Medicine, Stanford, California94305, United States
| | - Jack A. Tuszyński
- Department
of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Torino10129, Italy
- Department
of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AlbertaT6G 2E1, Canada
- Department
of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AlbertaT6G 1Z2, Canada
| | - Sabine Petry
- Department
of Molecular Biology, Schultz Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey08544, United States
| | - Roger Penrose
- Mathematical
Institute, Andrew Wiles Building, University
of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG, United
Kingdom
| | - Gregory D. Scholes
- Department
of Chemistry, New Frick Chemistry Building, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey08544, United States
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9
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Microtubules as a potential platform for energy transfer in biological systems: a target for implementing individualized, dynamic variability patterns to improve organ function. Mol Cell Biochem 2023; 478:375-392. [PMID: 35829870 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-022-04513-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Variability characterizes the complexity of biological systems and is essential for their function. Microtubules (MTs) play a role in structural integrity, cell motility, material transport, and force generation during mitosis, and dynamic instability exemplifies the variability in the proper function of MTs. MTs are a platform for energy transfer in cells. The dynamic instability of MTs manifests itself by the coexistence of growth and shortening, or polymerization and depolymerization. It results from a balance between attractive and repulsive forces between tubulin dimers. The paper reviews the current data on MTs and their potential roles as energy-transfer cellular structures and presents how variability can improve the function of biological systems in an individualized manner. The paper presents the option for targeting MTs to trigger dynamic improvement in cell plasticity, regulate energy transfer, and possibly control quantum effects in biological systems. The described system quantifies MT-dependent variability patterns combined with additional personalized signatures to improve organ function in a subject-tailored manner. The platform can regulate the use of MT-targeting drugs to improve the response to chronic therapies. Ongoing trials test the effects of this platform on various disorders.
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10
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Liebert A, Capon W, Pang V, Vila D, Bicknell B, McLachlan C, Kiat H. Photophysical Mechanisms of Photobiomodulation Therapy as Precision Medicine. Biomedicines 2023; 11:biomedicines11020237. [PMID: 36830774 PMCID: PMC9953702 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11020237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite a significant focus on the photochemical and photoelectrical mechanisms underlying photobiomodulation (PBM), its complex functions are yet to be fully elucidated. To date, there has been limited attention to the photophysical aspects of PBM. One effect of photobiomodulation relates to the non-visual phototransduction pathway, which involves mechanotransduction and modulation to cytoskeletal structures, biophotonic signaling, and micro-oscillatory cellular interactions. Herein, we propose a number of mechanisms of PBM that do not depend on cytochrome c oxidase. These include the photophysical aspects of PBM and the interactions with biophotons and mechanotransductive processes. These hypotheses are contingent on the effect of light on ion channels and the cytoskeleton, the production of biophotons, and the properties of light and biological molecules. Specifically, the processes we review are supported by the resonant recognition model (RRM). This previous research demonstrated that protein micro-oscillations act as a signature of their function that can be activated by resonant wavelengths of light. We extend this work by exploring the local oscillatory interactions of proteins and light because they may affect global body circuits and could explain the observed effect of PBM on neuro-cortical electroencephalogram (EEG) oscillations. In particular, since dysrhythmic gamma oscillations are associated with neurodegenerative diseases and pain syndromes, including migraine with aura and fibromyalgia, we suggest that transcranial PBM should target diseases where patients are affected by impaired neural oscillations and aberrant brain wave patterns. This review also highlights examples of disorders potentially treatable with precise wavelengths of light by mimicking protein activity in other tissues, such as the liver, with, for example, Crigler-Najjar syndrome and conditions involving the dysregulation of the cytoskeleton. PBM as a novel therapeutic modality may thus behave as "precision medicine" for the treatment of various neurological diseases and other morbidities. The perspectives presented herein offer a new understanding of the photophysical effects of PBM, which is important when considering the relevance of PBM therapy (PBMt) in clinical applications, including the treatment of diseases and the optimization of health outcomes and performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann Liebert
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
- Adventist Hospital Group, Wahroonga 2076, Australia
- NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead 2145, Australia
- Correspondence:
| | - William Capon
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
| | - Vincent Pang
- NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead 2145, Australia
| | - Damien Vila
- Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier-Nîmes, University of Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Brian Bicknell
- NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead 2145, Australia
| | - Craig McLachlan
- Faculty of Health, Torrens University, Adelaide 5000, Australia
| | - Hosen Kiat
- NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead 2145, Australia
- Faculty of Health, Torrens University, Adelaide 5000, Australia
- Cardiac Health Institute, Sydney 2121, Australia
- ANU College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park 2109, Australia
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11
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Wang YW, Wang L, Yuan SJ, Zhang Y, Zhang X, Zhou LT. Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Transcriptome-Based Comparison of Animal Models. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:900350. [PMID: 35837480 PMCID: PMC9273890 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.900350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication characterized by a significant cognitive decline. Increasing evidence suggests an association between the pathogenesis of POCD and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, a comprehensive understanding of their relationships is still lacking. Methods First, related databases were obtained from GEO, ArrayExpress, CNGB, and DDBJ repositories. De novo analysis was performed on the raw data using a uniform bioinformatics workflow. Then, macro- and micro-level comparisons were conducted between the transcriptomic changes associated with AD and POCD. Lastly, POCD was induced in male C57BL/6j mice and the hippocampal expression levels of mRNAs of interest were verified by PCR and compared to those in AD congenic models. Results There was a very weak correlation in the fold-changes in protein-coding transcripts between AD and POCD. Overall pathway-level comparison suggested that AD and POCD are two disease entities. Consistently, in the classical AD pathway, the mitochondrial complex and tubulin mRNAs were downregulated in both the POCD hippocampus and cortex. POCD and AD hippocampi might share the same pathways, such as tryptophan metabolism, but undergo different pathological changes in phagosome and transferrin endocytosis pathways. The core cluster in the hippocampal network was mainly enriched in mitosis-related pathways. The hippocampal expression levels of genes of interest detected by PCR showed good consistency with those generated by high throughput platforms. Conclusion POCD and AD are associated with different transcriptomic changes despite their similar clinical manifestations. This study provides a valuable resource for identifying biomarkers and therapeutic targets for POCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Wei Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China
| | - Liang Wang
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China
| | - Sheng-Jie Yuan
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China
| | - Yuan Zhang
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Translational Pain Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Xin Zhang,
| | - Le-Ting Zhou
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China
- *Correspondence: Le-Ting Zhou,
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12
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Hameroff S. Consciousness, Cognition and the Neuronal Cytoskeleton - A New Paradigm Needed in Neuroscience. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:869935. [PMID: 35782391 PMCID: PMC9245524 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.869935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Viewing the brain as a complex computer of simple neurons cannot account for consciousness nor essential features of cognition. Single cell organisms with no synapses perform purposeful intelligent functions using their cytoskeletal microtubules. A new paradigm is needed to view the brain as a scale-invariant hierarchy extending both upward from the level of neurons to larger and larger neuronal networks, but also downward, inward, to deeper, faster quantum and classical processes in cytoskeletal microtubules inside neurons. Evidence shows self-similar patterns of conductive resonances repeating in terahertz, gigahertz, megahertz, kilohertz and hertz frequency ranges in microtubules. These conductive resonances apparently originate in terahertz quantum dipole oscillations and optical interactions among pi electron resonance clouds of aromatic amino acid rings of tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine within each tubulin, the component subunit of microtubules, and the brain's most abundant protein. Evidence from cultured neuronal networks also now shows that gigahertz and megahertz oscillations in dendritic-somatic microtubules regulate specific firings of distal axonal branches, causally modulating membrane and synaptic activities. The brain should be viewed as a scale-invariant hierarchy, with quantum and classical processes critical to consciousness and cognition originating in microtubules inside neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Hameroff
- Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Psychology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Center for Consciousness Studies, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
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13
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Affiliation(s)
- George A. Mashour
- From the Departments of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, Center for Consciousness Science, Michigan Neuroscience Institute, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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14
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How COVID-19 Hijacks the Cytoskeleton: Therapeutic Implications. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12060814. [PMID: 35743845 PMCID: PMC9225596 DOI: 10.3390/life12060814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 virus invades and replicates within host cells by “hijacking” biomolecular machinery, gaining control of the microtubule cytoskeleton. After attaching to membrane receptors and entering cells, the SARS-CoV-2 virus co-opts the dynamic intra-cellular cytoskeletal network of microtubules, actin, and the microtubule-organizing center, enabling three factors that lead to clinical pathology: (1) viral load due to intra-cellular trafficking, (2) cell-to-cell spread by filopodia, and (3) immune dysfunction, ranging from hyper-inflammatory cytokine storm to ineffective or absent response. These factors all depend directly on microtubules and the microtubule-organizing center, as do cell functions such as mitosis and immune cell movement. Here we consider how the SARS-CoV-2 virus may “hijack” cytoskeletal functions by docking inside the microtubule-organizing center’s centriole “barrels”, enabling certain interactions between the virus’s positively charged spike (“S”) proteins and negatively charged C-termini of the microtubules that the centriole comprises, somewhat like fingers on a keyboard. This points to the potential benefit of therapies aimed not directly at the virus but at the microtubules and microtubule-organizing center of the host cell on which the virus depends. These therapies could range from anti-microtubule drugs to low-intensity ultrasound (megahertz mechanical vibrations) externally applied to the vagus nerve at the neck and/or to the spleen (since both are involved in mediating inflammatory response). Given that ultrasound imaging machines suitable for vagal/splenic ultrasound are available for clinical trials in every hospital, we recommend an alternative therapeutic approach for COVID-19 based on addressing and normalizing the host cell microtubules and microtubule-organizing centers co-opted by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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15
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Böhm J, Scherzer S. Signaling and transport processes related to the carnivorous lifestyle of plants living on nutrient-poor soil. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 187:2017-2031. [PMID: 35235668 PMCID: PMC8890503 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiab297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
In Eukaryotes, long-distance and rapid signal transmission is required in order to be able to react fast and flexibly to external stimuli. This long-distance signal transmission cannot take place by diffusion of signal molecules from the site of perception to the target tissue, as their speed is insufficient. Therefore, for adequate stimulus transmission, plants as well as animals make use of electrical signal transmission, as this can quickly cover long distances. This update summarises the most important advances in plant electrical signal transduction with a focus on the carnivorous Venus flytrap. It highlights the different types of electrical signals, examines their underlying ion fluxes and summarises the carnivorous processes downstream of the electrical signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Böhm
- Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, 97082 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sönke Scherzer
- Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, 97082 Würzburg, Germany
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16
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Competitive Coherence Generates Qualia in Bacteria and Other Living Systems. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:biology10101034. [PMID: 34681133 PMCID: PMC8533353 DOI: 10.3390/biology10101034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The relevance of bacteria to subjective experiences or qualia is underappreciated. Here, I make four proposals. Firstly, living systems traverse sequences of active states that determine their behaviour; these states result from competitive coherence, which depends on connectivity-based competition between a Next process and a Now process, whereby elements in the active state at time n+1 are chosen between the elements in the active state at time n and those elements in the developing n+1 state. Secondly, bacteria should help us link the mental to the physical world given that bacteria were here first, are highly complex, influence animal behaviour and dominate the Earth. Thirdly, the operation of competitive coherence to generate active states in bacteria, brains and other living systems is inseparable from qualia. Fourthly, these qualia become particularly important to the generation of active states in the highest levels of living systems, namely, the ecosystem and planetary levels.
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17
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Towards Quantum-Chemical Modeling of the Activity of Anesthetic Compounds. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22179272. [PMID: 34502179 PMCID: PMC8431746 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The modeling of the activity of anesthetics is a real challenge because of their unique electronic and structural characteristics. Microscopic approaches relevant to the typical features of these systems have been developed based on the advancements in the theory of intermolecular interactions. By stressing the quantum chemical point of view, here, we review the advances in the field highlighting differences and similarities among the chemicals within this group. The binding of the anesthetics to their partners has been analyzed by Symmetry-Adapted Perturbation Theory to provide insight into the nature of the interaction and the modeling of the adducts/complexes allows us to rationalize their anesthetic properties. A new approach in the frame of microtubule concept and the importance of lipid rafts and channels in membranes is also discussed.
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18
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Generation of Electromagnetic Field by Microtubules. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22158215. [PMID: 34360980 PMCID: PMC8348406 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22158215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The general mechanism of controlling, information and organization in biological systems is based on the internal coherent electromagnetic field. The electromagnetic field is supposed to be generated by microtubules composed of identical tubulin heterodimers with periodic organization and containing electric dipoles. We used a classical dipole theory of generation of the electromagnetic field to analyze the space–time coherence. The structure of microtubules with the helical and axial periodicity enables the interaction of the field in time shifted by one or more periods of oscillation and generation of coherent signals. Inner cavity excitation should provide equal energy distribution in a microtubule. The supplied energy coherently excites oscillators with a high electrical quality, microtubule inner cavity, and electrons at molecular orbitals and in ‘semiconduction’ and ‘conduction’ bands. The suggested mechanism is supposed to be a general phenomenon for a large group of helical systems.
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19
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Bajic V, Misic N, Stankovic I, Zaric B, Perry G. Alzheimer's and Consciousness: How Much Subjectivity Is Objective? Neurosci Insights 2021; 16:26331055211033869. [PMID: 34350401 PMCID: PMC8295942 DOI: 10.1177/26331055211033869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Does Alzheimer Disease show a decline in cognitive functions that relate to the awareness of external reality? In this paper, we will propose a perspective that patients with increasing symptoms of AD show a change in the awareness of subjective versus objective representative axis of reality thus consequently move to a more internal like perception of reality. This paradigm shift suggests that new insights into the dynamicity of the conscious representation of reality in the AD brain may give us new clues to the very early signs of memory and self-awareness impairment that originates from, in our view the microtubules. Dialog between Adso and William, in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Third Day: Vespers. "But how does it happen," I said with admiration, "that you were able to solve the mystery of the library looking at it from the outside, and you were unable to solve it when you were inside?" "Thus, God knows the world, because He conceived it in His mind, as if it was from the outside, before it was created, and we do not know its rule, because we live inside it, having found it already made."
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladan Bajic
- Department of Radiobiology and
Molecular Genetics, Vinca Institute, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | | | - Ivana Stankovic
- Institute of Chemistry, Technology and
Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Bozidarka Zaric
- Department of Radiobiology and
Molecular Genetics, Vinca Institute, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - George Perry
- Department of Biology, The University
of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
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20
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Smith J, Zadeh Haghighi H, Salahub D, Simon C. Radical pairs may play a role in xenon-induced general anesthesia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:6287. [PMID: 33737599 PMCID: PMC7973516 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85673-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms underlying general anesthesia would be a key step towards understanding consciousness. The process of xenon-induced general anesthesia has been shown to involve electron transfer, and the potency of xenon as a general anesthetic exhibits isotopic dependence. We propose that these observations can be explained by a mechanism in which the xenon nuclear spin influences the recombination dynamics of a naturally occurring radical pair of electrons. We develop a simple model inspired by the body of work on the radical-pair mechanism in cryptochrome in the context of avian magnetoreception, and we show that our model can reproduce the observed isotopic dependence of the general anesthetic potency of xenon in mice. Our results are consistent with the idea that radical pairs of electrons with entangled spins could be important for consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Smith
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, Quantum Alberta, and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Hadi Zadeh Haghighi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, Quantum Alberta, and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Dennis Salahub
- Department of Chemistry, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, Quantum Alberta, Centre for Molecular Simulation, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Christoph Simon
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, Quantum Alberta, and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
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21
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Zizzi EA, Cavaglià M, Tuszynski JA, Deriu MA. Insights into the interaction dynamics between volatile anesthetics and tubulin through computational molecular modelling. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2021; 40:7324-7338. [PMID: 33715591 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1897044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
General anesthetics, able to reversibly suppress all conscious brain activity, have baffled medical science for decades, and little is known about their exact molecular mechanism of action. Given the recent scientific interest in the exploration of microtubules as putative functional targets of anesthetics, and the involvement thereof in neurodegenerative disorders, the present work focuses on the investigation of the interaction between human tubulin and four volatile anesthetics: ethylene, desflurane, halothane and methoxyflurane. Interaction sites on different tubulin isotypes are predicted through docking, along with an estimate of the binding affinity ranking. The analysis is expanded by Molecular Dynamics simulations, where the dimers are allowed to freely interact with anesthetics in the surrounding medium. This allowed for the determination of interaction hotspots on tubulin dimers, which could be linked to different functional consequences on the microtubule architecture, and confirmed the weak, Van der Waals-type interaction, occurring within hydrophobic pockets on the dimer. Both docking and MD simulations highlighted significantly weaker interactions of ethylene, consistent with its far lower potency as a general anesthetic. Overall, simulations suggest a transient interaction between anesthetics and microtubules in general anesthesia, and contact probability analysis shows interaction strengths consistent with the potencies of the four compounds.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric A Zizzi
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Cavaglià
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Jack A Tuszynski
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy.,Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Marco A Deriu
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
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22
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Abstract
The 'Orch OR' theory attributes consciousness to quantum computations in microtubules inside brain neurons. Quantum computers process information as superpositions of multiple possibilities (quantum bits or qubits) which, in Orch OR, are alternative collective dipole oscillations orchestrated ('Orch') by microtubules. These orchestrated oscillations entangle, compute, and terminate ('collapse of the wavefunction') by Penrose objective reduction ('OR'), resulting in sequences of Orch OR moments with orchestrated conscious experience (metaphorically more like music than computation). Each Orch OR event selects microtubule states which govern neuronal functions. Orch OR has broad explanatory power, and is easily falsifiable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Hameroff
- Departments of Anesthesiology and Psychology, Banner-University Medical Center,Center for Consciousness Studies, The University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, AZ
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23
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Traverso S. Anxiety and depression: A matter of stiffness? Med Hypotheses 2020; 145:110344. [PMID: 33075584 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Cells react to stress by the universal responses of "fluidization" or "reinforcement" (stiffening) of the cytoplasm, through dramatic re-arrangements of the cytoskeleton. Here it is suggested that, at a supracellular level, the brain exhibits such a fundamental behavior as part of its complex response to stress: it is hypothesized that the soft gel formed by brain cell cytoskeletons and the surrounding extracellular matrix (the "cytoskeletons-matrix system") undergoes transitions either to sol (fluidization) or stiff gel (reinforcement) as a very fundamental and evolutionarily conserved brain response to stress, alongside more sophisticated neural pathways. Sol state corresponds to increased cell activity (a sort of "fight or flight" response), whereas stiff gel state corresponds to inactivity (an "immobility" strategy). Psychological stress, through simple stress signals such as pH changes, would lead to an initial tissue fluidization in key regions of the brain, followed, if the stress stimuli persist, by reinforcement (slow formation of actomyosin stress fibers and matrix stiffening). It is also hypothesized that the cytoskeletons-matrix system is one of the biological correlates of so-called "background feelings", i.e conscious feelings built on inner chemical-physical states of the body. Optimal dynamics of the cytoskeletons-matrix system would contribute to a core feeling of well-being, while shifts towards fluidization (activation) or stiffening (inactivation) would contribute to background feelings at the basis of anxiety and stress-induced depression, respectively. It is suggested that the cytoskeletons-matrix system behaves as a "self-organized critical system", anxiety and depression arising whenever the system is driven too far from the optimal critical point. Finally, some application hints from the proposed ideas are given.
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24
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Abstract
General anesthesia serves a critically important function in the clinical care of human patients. However, the anesthetized state has foundational implications for biology because anesthetic drugs are effective in organisms ranging from paramecia, to plants, to primates. Although unconsciousness is typically considered the cardinal feature of general anesthesia, this endpoint is only strictly applicable to a select subset of organisms that are susceptible to being anesthetized. We review the behavioral endpoints of general anesthetics across species and propose the isolation of an organism from its environment - both in terms of the afferent arm of sensation and the efferent arm of action - as a generalizable definition. We also consider the various targets and putative mechanisms of general anesthetics across biology and identify key substrates that are conserved, including cytoskeletal elements, ion channels, mitochondria, and functionally coupled electrical or neural activity. We conclude with a unifying framework related to network function and suggest that general anesthetics - from single cells to complex brains - create inefficiency and enhance modularity, leading to the dissociation of functions both within an organism and between the organism and its surroundings. Collectively, we demonstrate that general anesthesia is not restricted to the domain of modern medicine but has broad biological relevance with wide-ranging implications for a diverse array of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max B Kelz
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, 3620 Hamilton Walk, 334 John Morgan Building, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, University of Pennsylvania, Translational Research Laboratories, 125 S. 31st St., Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403, USA; Mahoney Institute for Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Clinical Research Building, 415 Curie Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - George A Mashour
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, 7433 Medical Science Building 1, 1150 West Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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25
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Xiang Z, Tang C, Chang C, Liu G. A primary model of THz and far-infrared signal generation and conduction in neuron systems based on the hypothesis of the ordered phase of water molecules on the neuron surface I: signal characteristics. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2020; 65:308-317. [PMID: 36659096 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2019.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we use the theory of quantum optics and electrodynamics to study the electromagnetic field problem in the nervous system based on the assumption of an ordered arrangement of water molecules on the neuronal surface. Using the Lagrangian of the water molecule-field ion, the dynamic equations for neural signal generation and transmission are derived. Perturbation theory and the numerical method are used to solve the dynamic equations, and the characteristics of high-frequency signals (the dispersion relation, the time domain of the field, the frequency domain waveform, etc.) are discussed. This model predicts some intrinsic vibration modes of electromagnetic radiation on the neuronal surface. The frequency range of these vibration modes is in the THz and far-infrared ranges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuoxian Xiang
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Chuanxiang Tang
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Chao Chang
- Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China.
| | - Guozhi Liu
- Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
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26
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Stöhr M, Tkatchenko A. Quantum mechanics of proteins in explicit water: The role of plasmon-like solute-solvent interactions. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaax0024. [PMID: 31853494 PMCID: PMC6910842 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax0024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Quantum-mechanical van der Waals dispersion interactions play an essential role in intraprotein and protein-water interactions-the two main factors affecting the structure and dynamics of proteins in water. Typically, these interactions are only treated phenomenologically, via pairwise potential terms in classical force fields. Here, we use an explicit quantum-mechanical approach of density-functional tight-binding combined with the many-body dispersion formalism and demonstrate the relevance of many-body van der Waals forces both to protein energetics and to protein-water interactions. In contrast to commonly used pairwise approaches, many-body effects substantially decrease the relative stability of native states in the absence of water. Upon solvation, the protein-water dispersion interaction counteracts this effect and stabilizes native conformations and transition states. These observations arise from the highly delocalized and collective character of the interactions, suggesting a remarkable persistence of electron correlation through aqueous environments and providing the basis for long-range interaction mechanisms in biomolecular systems.
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27
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Hunt T, Schooler JW. The Easy Part of the Hard Problem: A Resonance Theory of Consciousness. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:378. [PMID: 31736728 PMCID: PMC6834646 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Synchronization, harmonization, vibrations, or simply resonance in its most general sense seems to have an integral relationship with consciousness itself. One of the possible “neural correlates of consciousness” in mammalian brains is a specific combination of gamma, beta and theta electrical synchrony. More broadly, we see similar kinds of resonance patterns in living and non-living structures of many types. What clues can resonance provide about the nature of consciousness more generally? This paper provides an overview of resonating structures in the fields of neuroscience, biology and physics and offers a possible solution to what we see as the “easy part” of the “Hard Problem” of consciousness, which is generally known as the “combination problem.” The combination problem asks: how do micro-conscious entities combine into a higher-level macro-consciousness? The proposed solution in the context of mammalian consciousness suggests that a shared resonance is what allows different parts of the brain to achieve a phase transition in the speed and bandwidth of information flows between the constituent parts. This phase transition allows for richer varieties of consciousness to arise, with the character and content of that consciousness in each moment determined by the particular set of constituent neurons. We also offer more general insights into the ontology of consciousness and suggest that consciousness manifests as a continuum of increasing richness in all physical processes, distinguishing our view from emergentist materialism. We refer to this approach, a meta-synthesis, as a (general) resonance theory of consciousness. We offer some suggestions for testing the theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tam Hunt
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Jonathan W Schooler
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
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28
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Li T, Tang H, Zhu J, Zhang JH. The finer scale of consciousness: quantum theory. ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2019; 7:585. [PMID: 31807566 DOI: 10.21037/atm.2019.09.09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Consciousness is a multidisciplinary problem that has puzzled all human beings since the origin of human life. Being defined in various pointcuts by philosophers, biologists, physicists, and neuroscientists, the definitive explanation of consciousness is still suspending. The nature of consciousness has taken great evolution by centering on the behavioral and neuronal correlates of perception and cognition, for example, the theory of Neural Correlates of Consciousness, the Global Workspace Theory, the Integrated Information Theory. While tremendous progress has been achieved, they are not enough if we are to understand even basic facts-how and where does the consciousness emerge. The Quantum mechanics, a thriving branch of physics, has an inseparable relationship with consciousness (e.g., observer effect) since Planck created this subject and its derived quantum consciousness theory can perfectly fill this gap. In this review, we briefly introduce some consciousness hypotheses derived from quantum mechanics and focus on the framework of orchestrated objective reduction (Orch-OR), including its principal points and practicality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianwen Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, Fudan University Huashan Hospital, National Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, the Institutes of Brain Science and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
| | - Hailiang Tang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Fudan University Huashan Hospital, National Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, the Institutes of Brain Science and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
| | - Jianhong Zhu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Fudan University Huashan Hospital, National Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, the Institutes of Brain Science and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
| | - John H Zhang
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, USA
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29
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Burdick RK, Villabona-Monsalve JP, Mashour GA, Goodson T. Modern Anesthetic Ethers Demonstrate Quantum Interactions with Entangled Photons. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11351. [PMID: 31383882 PMCID: PMC6683176 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47651-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite decades of research, the mechanism of anesthetic-induced unconsciousness remains incompletely understood, with some advocating for a quantum mechanical basis. Despite associations between general anesthesia and changes in physical properties such as electron spin, there has been no empirical demonstration that general anesthetics are capable of functional quantum interactions. In this work, we studied the linear and non-linear optical properties of the halogenated ethers sevoflurane (SEVO) and isoflurane (ISO), using UV-Vis spectroscopy, time dependent-density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations, classical two-photon spectroscopy, and entangled two-photon spectroscopy. We show that both of these halogenated ethers interact with pairs of 800 nm entangled photons while neither interact with 800 nm classical photons. By contrast, nonhalogenated diethyl ether does not interact with entangled photons. This is the first experimental evidence that halogenated anesthetics can directly undergo quantum interaction mechanisms, offering a new approach to understanding their physicochemical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan K Burdick
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | | | - George A Mashour
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5048, USA.
| | - Theodore Goodson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
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30
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Zhao T, Zhu Y, Tang H, Xie R, Zhu J, Zhang JH. Consciousness: New Concepts and Neural Networks. Front Cell Neurosci 2019; 13:302. [PMID: 31338025 PMCID: PMC6629860 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2019.00302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The definition of consciousness remains a difficult issue that requires urgent understanding and resolution. Currently, consciousness research is an intensely focused area of neuroscience. However, to establish a greater understanding of the concept of consciousness, more detailed, intrinsic neurobiological research is needed. Additionally, an accurate assessment of the level of consciousness may strengthen our awareness of this concept and provide new ideas for patients undergoing clinical treatment of consciousness disorders. In addition, research efforts that help elucidate the concept of consciousness have important scientific and clinical significance. This review presents the latest progress in consciousness research and proposes our assumptions with regard to the network of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Zhao
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yiqian Zhu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hailiang Tang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Rong Xie
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianhong Zhu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - John H. Zhang
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, United States
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Facchin F, Canaider S, Tassinari R, Zannini C, Bianconi E, Taglioli V, Olivi E, Cavallini C, Tausel M, Ventura C. Physical energies to the rescue of damaged tissues. World J Stem Cells 2019; 11:297-321. [PMID: 31293714 PMCID: PMC6600852 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v11.i6.297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Revised: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhythmic oscillatory patterns sustain cellular dynamics, driving the concerted action of regulatory molecules, microtubules, and molecular motors. We describe cellular microtubules as oscillators capable of synchronization and swarming, generating mechanical and electric patterns that impact biomolecular recognition. We consider the biological relevance of seeing the inside of cells populated by a network of molecules that behave as bioelectronic circuits and chromophores. We discuss the novel perspectives disclosed by mechanobiology, bioelectromagnetism, and photobiomodulation, both in term of fundamental basic science and in light of the biomedical implication of using physical energies to govern (stem) cell fate. We focus on the feasibility of exploiting atomic force microscopy and hyperspectral imaging to detect signatures of nanomotions and electromagnetic radiation (light), respectively, generated by the stem cells across the specification of their multilineage repertoire. The chance is reported of using these signatures and the diffusive features of physical waves to direct specifically the differentiation program of stem cells in situ, where they already are resident in all the tissues of the human body. We discuss how this strategy may pave the way to a regenerative and precision medicine without the needs for (stem) cell or tissue transplantation. We describe a novel paradigm based upon boosting our inherent ability for self-healing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Facchin
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), School of Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna 40100, Italy
- National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, CNR, Bologna 40100, Italy
| | - Silvia Canaider
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), School of Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna 40100, Italy
- National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, CNR, Bologna 40100, Italy
| | - Riccardo Tassinari
- National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, CNR, Bologna 40100, Italy
| | - Chiara Zannini
- National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, CNR, Bologna 40100, Italy
| | - Eva Bianconi
- National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, CNR, Bologna 40100, Italy
| | - Valentina Taglioli
- National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, CNR, Bologna 40100, Italy
| | - Elena Olivi
- National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, CNR, Bologna 40100, Italy
| | - Claudia Cavallini
- National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, CNR, Bologna 40100, Italy
| | | | - Carlo Ventura
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), School of Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna 40100, Italy
- National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, CNR, Bologna 40100, Italy
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Baluška F, Reber A. Sentience and Consciousness in Single Cells: How the First Minds Emerged in Unicellular Species. Bioessays 2019; 41:e1800229. [PMID: 30714631 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201800229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
A reductionistic, bottom-up, cellular-based concept of the origins of sentience and consciousness has been put forward. Because all life is based on cells, any evolutionary theory of the emergence of sentience and consciousness must be grounded in mechanisms that take place in prokaryotes, the simplest unicellular species. It has been posited that subjective awareness is a fundamental property of cellular life. It emerges as an inherent feature of, and contemporaneously with, the very first life-forms. All other varieties of mentation are the result of evolutionary mechanisms based on this singular event. Therefore, all forms of sentience and consciousness evolve from this original instantiation in prokaryotes. It has also been identified that three cellular structures and mechanisms that likely play critical roles here are excitable membranes, oscillating cytoskeletal polymers, and structurally flexible proteins. Finally, basic biophysical principles are proposed to guide those processes that underly the emergence of supracellular sentience from cellular sentience in multicellular organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- František Baluška
- Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Arthur Reber
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Thinking as a quantum phenomenon. Biosystems 2019; 176:32-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2018.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2018] [Revised: 12/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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The lowest-lying electronic states of isoflurane and sevoflurane in the 5.0–10.8 eV energy range investigated by experimental and theoretical methods. Chem Phys Lett 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2018.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Abstract
Abstract
What We Already Know about This Topic
What This Article Tells Us That Is New
Background
Xenon is an elemental anesthetic with nine stable isotopes. Nuclear spin is a quantum property which may differ among isotopes. Xenon 131 (131Xe) has nuclear spin of 3/2, xenon 129 (129Xe) a nuclear spin of 1/2, and the other seven isotopes have no nuclear spin. This study was aimed to explore the effect of nuclear spin on xenon anesthetic potency.
Methods
Eighty C57BL/6 male mice (7 weeks old) were randomly divided into four groups, xenon 132 (132Xe), xenon 134 (134Xe), 131Xe, and 129Xe groups. Due to xenon’s low potency, loss of righting reflex ED50 for mice to xenon was determined with 0.50% isoflurane. Loss of righting reflex ED50 of isoflurane was also measured, and the loss of righting reflex ED50 values of the four xenon isotopes were then calculated. The exact polarizabilities of the isotopes were calculated.
Results
Combined with 0.50% isoflurane, the loss of righting reflex ED50 values were 15 ± 4%, 16 ± 5%, 22 ± 5%, and 23 ± 7% for 132Xe, 134Xe, 131Xe, and 129Xe, respectively. For xenon alone, the loss of righting reflex ED50 values of 132Xe, 134Xe, 131Xe, and 129Xe were 70 ± 4%, 72 ± 5%, 99 ± 5%, and 105 ± 7%, respectively. Four isotopes had a same exact polarizability of 3.60 Å3.
Conclusions
Xenon isotopes with nuclear spin are less potent than those without, and polarizability cannot account for the difference. The lower anesthetic potency of 129Xe may be the result of it participating in conscious processing and therefore partially antagonizing its own anesthetic potency. Nuclear spin is a quantum property, and our results are consistent with theories that implicate quantum mechanisms in consciousness.
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Vallverdú J, Castro O, Mayne R, Talanov M, Levin M, Baluška F, Gunji Y, Dussutour A, Zenil H, Adamatzky A. Slime mould: The fundamental mechanisms of biological cognition. Biosystems 2018; 165:57-70. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2017.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2017] [Revised: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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Kurian P, Obisesan TO, Craddock TJA. Oxidative species-induced excitonic transport in tubulin aromatic networks: Potential implications for neurodegenerative disease. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY. B, BIOLOGY 2017; 175:109-124. [PMID: 28865316 PMCID: PMC5610651 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2017.08.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Revised: 08/15/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Oxidative stress is a pathological hallmark of neurodegenerative tauopathic disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease-related dementia, which are characterized by altered forms of the microtubule-associated protein (MAP) tau. MAP tau is a key protein in stabilizing the microtubule architecture that regulates neuron morphology and synaptic strength. When MAP tau is degraded in tauopathic disorders, neuron dysfunction results. The precise role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the tauopathic disease process, however, is poorly understood. Classically, mitochondrial dysfunction has been viewed as the major source of oxidative stress and has been shown to precede tau and amyloid pathology in various dementias, but the exact mechanisms are not clear. It is known that the production of ROS by mitochondria can result in ultraweak photon emission (UPE) within cells. While of low intensity, surrounding proteins within the cytosol can still absorb these energetic photons via aromatic amino acids (e.g., tryptophan and tyrosine). One likely absorber of these photons is the microtubule cytoskeleton, as it forms a vast network spanning neurons, is highly co-localized with mitochondria, and shows a high density of aromatic amino acids. Functional microtubule networks may traffic this ROS-generated endogenous photon energy for cellular signaling, or they may serve as dissipaters/conduits of such energy to protect the cell from potentially harmful effects. Experimentally, after in vitro exposure to exogenous photons, microtubules have been shown to reorient and reorganize in a dose-dependent manner with the greatest effect being observed around 280nm, in the tryptophan and tyrosine absorption range. In this paper, recent modeling efforts based on ambient temperature experiment are presented, showing that tubulin polymers can feasibly absorb and channel these photoexcitations via resonance energy transfer, on the order of dendritic length scales and neuronal fine structure. Since microtubule networks are compromised in tauopathic diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's dementias, patients with these illnesses would be unable to support effective channeling of these photons for signaling or dissipation. Consequent emission surplus due to increased UPE production or decreased ability to absorb and transfer may lead to increased cellular oxidative damage, thus hastening the neurodegenerative process.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Kurian
- National Human Genome Center, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC 20060, USA; Department of Medicine, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC 20060, USA; Computational Physics Laboratory, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USA.
| | - T O Obisesan
- Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science Clinical Research Unit, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC 20060, USA
| | - T J A Craddock
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA; Department of Computer Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA; Department of Clinical Immunology, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA; Clinical Systems Biology Group, Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA
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