Quantum propensities and free will
Capacity of conscious agents to perform genuine choices among future alternatives is a prerequisite for moral responsibility. Determinism that pervades classical physics, however, forbids free will, undermines the foundations of ethics, and precludes meaningful quantification of personal biases. To resolve that impasse, we utilize the characteristic indeterminism of quantum physics and derive a quantitative measure for the amount of free will manifested by the brain cortical network. The interaction between the nervous system and the surrounding environment is shown to perform a quantum measurement upon the neural constituents, which actualize a single measurement outcome selected from the resulting quantum probability distribution.
Computational capacity of cortical pyramidal neurons
Electric activities of cortical pyramidal neurons are supported by structurally stable, morphologically complex axo-dendritic trees. Anatomical differences between axons and dendrites in regard to their length or caliber reflect the underlying functional specializations, for input or output of neural information, respectively. To properly assess the computational capacity of cortical pyramidal neurons, various morphometric measures of their axons and dendrites need to be precisely quantified from available 3D digital reconstructions.
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Launching of Davydov solitons in proteins
Biological order provided by protein α-helices could be exploited to increase the efficiency of energy transport. Self-trapping of amide I excitons by the induced phonon deformation of the hydrogen-bonded lattice of peptide groups generates either pinned or moving solitons following the Davydov model. The effect of in-phase Gaussian pulses of amide I energy, however, is strongly dependent on the site of application. Moving solitons are only launched when the amide I energy is applied at one of the α-helix ends, whereas pinned solitons are produced in the α-helix interior.
Retelling traumatic stories in virtual reality
Virtual Reality (VR) shapes modern life, including entertainment and digital health. In medicine, VR could be used to teach skills, alleviate challenging psychological conditions and bring relaxation. VR is also a common treatment tool for psychological trauma with its capability to immerse the patient in exposure scenarios as it recreates life events in a realistic way. This storytelling feature of VR, combined with the strong sense of presence elicited in the people who are immersed in VR, promises a great potential in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.