Dr. Stuart Hameroff claimed that the Brain creates consciousness, but his quantum consciousness theory has been criticized for three decades. However, new evidence now supports his claim.
Dr. Hameroff is a prominent neuroscientist and anesthesiologist known for his work on the science of consciousness. He is the co-founder and director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona and a professor emeritus in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Psychology.
Dr. Hameroff’s research focuses on the role of microtubules—protein structures within cells—in consciousness. He proposed, alongside Sir Roger Penrose, the Orch OR (Orchestrated Objective Reduction) model of consciousness in the 1990s. This theory suggests that consciousness arises from quantum computing processes within the brain’s microtubules, with influences from the fundamental structure of spacetime at the quantum level. According to the model, this could explain phenomena like perception, self-awareness, and potentially even spirituality and the afterlife, connecting consciousness to the basic fabric of the universe.
In addition to his scientific research, Dr. Hameroff organizes the biennial Science of Consciousness conference series, which brings together researchers from various fields to discuss theories and findings on the nature of consciousness. He also continues his clinical work as a practicing anesthesiologist. His theories remain controversial in the scientific community but have spurred a great deal of interest in exploring the relationship between quantum physics and consciousness.
Dr. Stuart Hameroff has been interested in the mystery of consciousness for almost his entire life. Instead of studying brain science or psychology, Hameroff became interested in anesthetics—drugs that cause loss of consciousness—because of their connection to consciousness.
“I thought about neurology, psychology, and neurosurgery, but none of those seemed to address the problem of consciousness,” says Hameroff, a retired anesthesiology professor from the University of Arizona. He remembers when he first came to the university and met the chair of the anesthesia department. The chair said, “If you want to understand consciousness, figure out how anesthesia works because we don’t know how it works.”
Dr. Hameroff suggests that at its core, consciousness can be understood as “awareness,” which he equates to having a “phenomenal experience”—the subjective, first-person experience of the world around us or our inner thoughts and feelings.
He emphasizes that consciousness is distinct from other mental processes like behavior, memory, and attention, which can occur without conscious awareness. Consciousness, in his view, is the experience of being aware of something, whether it’s the external world (like seeing someone or observing a scene) or internal states (like memories, thoughts, or emotions).
Dr. Hameroff’s research on anesthesia showed that unconsciousness happens because of changes in microtubules, and he started to think that these structures might also be involved in creating consciousness. Instead of focusing on neurons, or the brain’s nerve cells, as the main units of consciousness, Hameroff looked deeper at the tiny tubulins inside microtubules. This idea quickly became his obsession.
Microtubules are part of the cell’s cytoskeleton, which helps the cell hold its shape and divide. They are made of tubulin proteins and are found in many cells in the body. Hameroff compares the shape of microtubules to a “hollow ear of corn,” with the kernels being the alpha- and beta-tubulin proteins. He first learned about these structures in medical school in the 1970s, discovering how microtubules help duplicate chromosomes during cell division. If microtubules don’t do this job properly, it can lead to cancer or other development issues.
Dr. Hameroff knew that anesthetics affected certain structures in the brain but didn’t understand how microtubules could create consciousness. “How could all that information processing explain consciousness? How could it explain feelings like envy, greed, pain, love, joy, or even the color green?” Hameroff says. “I had no idea.”
That was until he came across an important book by Nobel Prize winner Sir Roger Penrose, Ph.D.
In his 1989 book “The Emperor’s New Mind,” Penrose suggested that consciousness is quantum, not computational, like many other theories had proposed. However, Penrose didn’t have a biological explanation for how quantum effects in the brain could create conscious experiences.
Hameroff remembers saying, “Damn straight, Roger. It’s freaking microtubules.” Soon after, Hameroff teamed up with Penrose, and they worked together on one of the most interesting—and debated—ideas in studying consciousness. This became known as Orchestrated Objective Reduction theory (Orch OR), which claims that microtubules in neurons cause the quantum wave function to collapse, a process called objective reduction, which leads to consciousness.
Dr. Hameroff admits that since the idea started in the mid-90s, many have criticized it. But lately, more research suggests that quantum processes might happen in the brain. While this doesn’t fully prove the Orch OR theory that Hameroff and Penrose proposed, it’s making some scientists rethink the idea that consciousness could be connected to quantum processes. If true, this would be a big discovery in understanding human consciousness and would mean that computer-based artificial intelligence could never really be conscious.
Dr. Hameroff quickly wrote a letter to Penrose, sharing some of his research and offering to visit him at one of his conferences in Oxford, England. Penrose agreed, and the two began studying the mystery of human consciousness. While working on their quantum consciousness theory, Hameroff also brought together experts from different fields—like philosophy, neuroscience, cognitive science, math, and physics—to discuss consciousness at the biannual Science of Consciousness Conference.
The conference made an impact right from the start. In 1994, philosopher David Chalmers explained that neuroscience could help understand how the brain controlled physical processes, but the real challenge was figuring out why humans and other living beings had subjective experiences.
About two years after Chalmers’ talk in a Tucson hospital auditorium, Penrose and Hameroff presented their possible answer to this challenge. However, their idea wasn’t well-accepted.
In April 1996, Penrose and Hameroff introduced their Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR) theory, suggesting that consciousness arises from quantum processes in microtubules. The theory has faced nearly 30 years of criticism, with notable figures like Stephen Hawking dismissing it as connecting unrelated mysteries. Critics also argue that the brain’s warm environment is unsuitable for quantum processes. However, Hameroff defends the theory, claiming it’s supported by physics, biology, and anesthesia.
In recent years, research showing quantum effects in biological systems, including microtubules, has given some critics reason to reconsider. Dr. Hameroff believes the focus on AI and computation has shifted attention away from the true nature of consciousness. Despite the criticism, he continues to defend the theory, even exploring the possibility that consciousness could predate life itself, a view he admits leans into the spiritual realm.
Quantum Entanglement in Neurons May Actually Explain Consciousness
In their newly published paper, Shanghai University physicists Zefei Liu and Yong-Cong Chen and biomedical engineer Ping Ao from Sichuan University in China explain how entangled photons emitted by carbon-hydrogen bonds in nerve cell insulation could synchronize activity within the brain.
Their findings come just months after another quantum phenomenon known as superradiance was identified in cellular frameworks, drawing attention to a highly speculative theory on consciousness called the Penrose-Hameroff ‘orchestrated-objective reduction’ model.
Scientists have had a whole other reason to staple their skeptic hat on tight when it comes to quantum theories of consciousness – the sloppy tides of biology have long been considered too chaotic, too noisy, and too ‘big’ for quantum mechanics to emerge in any significant way.
Proposed by the highly respected physicist Roger Penrose and the American anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, the model suggests networks of cytoskeleton tubules that lend structure to cells – in this case, our neurons – act as a kind of quantum computer that somehow shapes our thinking.
The movement of these connected photons through the brain’s biochemistry might help link processes that are important for the brain’s ability to synchronize.
The word “might” is doing a lot of work here. While there are many scientific discoveries that support parts of this idea, there’s currently only evidence that entangled photons affect biological processes in photosynthesis.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t examples of quantum biology in animals. There is growing evidence that the electron spins in certain proteins, called cryptochromes, can be affected by magnetic fields, which may help explain how some animals navigate long distances.
We’re still far from proving that anything beyond classical chemistry happens in our brains, or that our brain functions are controlled by a quantum force. But it may be time to reconsider whether quantum phenomena have any impact on at least some of the brain’s basic functions.
