ABSTRACT

By resorting to recent results on dissipative systems in quantum field theory, the quantum model of the brain proposed by Ricciardi and Umezawa is extended to dissipative dynamics. Many ground states of the system may coexist, corresponding to many information storage levels, thus allowing a huge memory capacity. The mechanism of information printing is related to the breakdown of time-reversal symmetry. It is conjectured that consciousness emerges as a manifestation of the brain dissipative dynamics.