ULTIMATE COMPUTING - Quantum Consciousness Studies

Brain/Mind/Computer 43
coherent reference waves are necessary for recall. The second is that much
information in a given hologram is contained in any one small portion of it,
although with reduced resolution and signal to noise ratio. Recently, dynamic
real-time holography has been developed with the use of photorefractive crystals
(Gower, 1985).
Denis Gabor (1948), who received the 1969 Nobel prize for his invention of
holography, remarked:
for some years now this property of holograms has attracted the
interest of neurophysiologists who were puzzled by the difficulty in
locating the ‘engram’ in the human or animal memory. As is now
well known, especially since the famous experiments of Lashley,
large parts of the brain can sometimes be destroyed without wiping
out a learned pattern of behavior. This has led to speculation that the
brain may contain a holographic mechanism.
Gabor was skeptical, however, about the “existence of waves or tuned
resonators in the brain.” The mantle of holographic brain theory was taken up by
Stanford’s Karl Pribram (1986) who has contended that the brain perceives
sensory information by analysis of the interference of neural firing frequencies.
What results within the brain, according to Pribram, is a holographic domain in
which space and time are enfolded. Consequently transformations into ordinary
domains can be achieved from any part of the encoded records. This is the
property of distributedness of information which characterizes holograms and
brain functions. Holographic brain models have been based on coherent wave
interference at the level of neuronal activities, particularly dendritic-dendritic
interactions. Verification of coherency among neurons has been lacking, and the
neural level hologram remains merely an interesting mathematical model.
However, the cytoskeleton within neurons (and all cells) may be well suited for
holographic mechanisms due its spatial coherence (i.e. 8 nanometer periodicity)
and potential temporal coupling (coherent nanosecond oscillations, see Chapter
6). Thus intracellula cytoplasm surrounding the cytoskeleton may be the substrate
for holographic consciousness.
The holographic concept of consciousness has psycho-physical implications
(Weber, 1975). Physicist David Bohm has remarked that our perceptions of
reality are conditioned on lenses (eyes, cameras, microscopes, etc.) which focus,
objectify, form boundaries, and particularize. Lensless holograms are distributed,
lack boundaries and are “holistic.” Bohm suggests that the reality ‘of the universe
is mathematically similar to a hologram (the “implicate” domain) which deals
with frequency domain, and fluctuating waveform properties as opposed to our
lens conditioned Euclidean-Newtonian impressions. This approach seems
consistent with modern physics views on wave/particle duality and the
uncertainty principle. Experiences reported by mystics, schizophrenics and
hallucinogenic drug experimenters describe loss of spatial and temporal
boundaries, and a holographic (“fractal”) characteristic of the whole being
represented in every part. One may argue whether mystical/schizoid/drug induced
perceptions are aberrations or clarified reality, but certain properties of holograms
(distributedness of information, vast storage capacity, three dimensional spatial
imagery) bear some resemblance to consciousness.