Whether or not neuronal signal properties can engage 'non-trivial', i.e. functionally significant,
quantum properties, is the subject of an ongoing debate. Here we provide evidence that quantum
coherence dynamics can play a functional role in ion conduction mechanism with consequences on the
shape and associative character of classical membrane signals. In particular, these new perspectives predict
that a specific neuronal topology (e.g. the connectivity pattern of cortical columns in the primate brain) is
less important and not really required to explain abilities in perception and sensory-motor integration.
Instead, this evidence is suggestive for a decisive role of the number and functional segregation of ion
channel proteins that can be engaged in a particular neuronal constellation. We provide evidence from
comparative brain studies and estimates of computational capacity behind visual flight functions suggestive
for a possible role of quantum computation in biological systems.
We propose a quantum information scheme that builds on the interference properties of entangled ion states that are transiently confined by local potentials within the permeation path of voltage-gated, ion-conducting membrane proteins. We show, that the sub-molecular organization of parts of the protein, as revealed by the recent progress in high-resolution atomic-level spectroscopy and accompaning molecular dynamics simulations, carries a logical coding potency that goes beyond the pure catalytic function of the channel, subserving the transmembrane crossing of an electrodiffusive barrier. As we argue that 'within channel states' can become super-correlated with the environment , this also sheds new light on the role of noise in controlling the access of ions to voltage-gated ion channels ('channel noise').
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