Quantum Cooperativity in Neural Signaling

The Special Issue on ‘Quantum Cooperativity in Neural Signalling’ investigates the possibility that quantum physical interactions instantiated at the sub-molecular and atomic scale within membrane channel proteins can play a functional role for brain signalling.

Dear Colleagues,

Brain function reaches far beyond computational and communication systems and goes beyond purely statistical correlations within task-related neural interactions. It has become apparent that the brain offers an ‘embodiment of mind and experience’ in a very special way and, in particular, there are physical properties in the brain that can possibly be addressed by this role. One still highly-debated assumption suggests that these physical properties may reside at the most radical level in physics at the quantum scale. This view is most notably motivated by i) some formal resemblance between quantum physical conceptions and ontological questions behind subject–object dualities in the cognitive sciences , ii) by a ‘quantum-like’ behaviour of signal dynamics at the cellular scale, and iii) by the detection of short-lived quantum coherences within the thermal environment of ion conduction. It is the third aspect that is at the centre of interest for the present Special Issue on quantum cooperativity in neural signalling. In particular, this issue intends to explore the possible functional role of quantum coherences during selective ion conduction, and the interplay of ion conduction states with the electronic and vibrational environment provided by the channel protein, and finally the question of how quantum properties could be ‘witnessed’ by, or spread into macroscopic observables at the thermodynamic limit characterizing neural signals.

Increasing insight into these questions can possibly inspire new impulses for brain science and also provide new ideas regarding technical approaches for AI implementations. With your expertise in this field, I think you could make an important contribution to these challenging topics.

Prof. Dr. Gustav Bernroider
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• ion channel atomic states
• quantum coherence at warm temperatures
• entanglement
• quantum cooperativity
• molecular thermodynamics in membrane signals
• cooperativity between voltage gated ion channels
• electron transfer and noncovalent interactions in channel proteins
• quantum trajectories in biomolecules
• nanoscale excitons in proteins