ABSTRACT
17-2We discuss a framework for subneuronal processing of information in terms of certain biophysical principles subject to the dynamics of solitary waves and stochastic processes. A particular focus concerns the propagation of electromagnetic solitons within neurons resulting from the interaction between the cytosolic water electric dipole field and the quantized electromagnetic field induced by transmembrane neuronal currents. We show that soliton collisions may be viewed as a type of logical gate application where the resulting output is ensured by interaction of the soliton with C–terminal tails (CTTs) projecting from the cytoskeletal microtubules. The CTT energase action by vibrationally assisted tunneling may influence the conformational dynamics of the neuronal cytoskeletal protein network by releasing energy and providing efficiency for mechanisms leading to neuronal neurite outgrowth, synaptogenesis, and membrane fusion. The nanomolecular neurobiology discussion utilizes quantum mechanical effects such as quantum tunneling within molecular processes and leads to comparisons with features of nonlinear optical networks and quantum entanglement. The described function of the synapse as a sandwich-like array modeled on a Josephson junction affords a similarity with nanomolecular devices as applied in nanoelectronics and quantum computers. The biological processes discussed may be viewed as a basis for a neuro-informatic/cybernetic network within the cytoskeleton of neurons.
