On the need to unify neuroscience and physics

Abstract

\r\r****a complete neurological theory of\rhuman (un)conscious brain processing should always\rbe explainable and describable by the laws of physics\rbecause the human species is part of nature and is\rsubject to nature’s underlying fundamental laws.****\r\r\rNeuroscience is a relatively new research field\rthat, so far, has resulted in important progress in understanding the physiology, biochemistry,\rpharmacology, and structure of the vertebrate brain.[1]\r\rBecause of this progress, spectacular technological\rdevelopments,[2] i.e. positron emission tomography,\rfunctional magnetic resonance imaging, transcranial\rmagnetic stimulation (TMS), diffusion tensor imaging,\rmagneto-encephalography, electro-encephalography,\retc., and new treatments based on them, such as\rhigh-frequency repetitive TMS (rTMS),[3] deep brain\rstimulation,[4] etc., have been of great use. \r\r\rHowever,\rdespite those technical and clinical successes in\rneuroscience, in which the advances in physics[5] have\rplayed a substantial role, one fundamental problem is\rstill unsolved, namely, how to unify neuroscience and\rphysics?[6] \r\rAs we will discuss in the present editorial,\rnot only is this problem important from a purely\rfundamental, theoretical perspective, but it is also vital\rfor the development of more optimal treatments in\rclinical neuroscience.\r\rIn recent years, we have seen fascinating new\rdiscoveries in the field of neuroscience, such as the\rbrain’s dark energy,[7] the existence of a default mode\rnetwork,[8] etc., and as a result of those discoveries,\rviews on the human brain’s processing and functioning\rhave been evolving. \r\r\rFor a long time, brain function\rwas studied by investigating physiological responses\rto environmental demands.[9] \r\r\r However, although this is an interesting approach, this is only a small part of\rthe story because this theoretical framework does not\rtake into account that a large part of the brain’s energy\ris devoted to intrinsic neuronal signaling instead of\rextrinsic demands.[10]\r\rHere, worthy of important note\ris that a miswiring of brain regions involved in the\rdefault mode has been suggested to play a significant\rrole in various neurological diseases, such as\rAlzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, etc.\r[10] Last year,\rthe existence of a so-called “extrinsic mode network”\rwas proposed.[11] \r\rThis network is considered to be\rcomplementary to the default mode network; when one\rof them is up-regulated, the other is down-regulated.\rIn this case, the extrinsic mode network would be\rresponsible in tasks whereas the default mode\rnetwork would be activated in task-absent situations.[\r\r....\r....\rTo conclude, neuroscience is a relatively new research\rfield, so many discoveries are still to be made. \r\rMoreover, further technical advancements are required\rbecause the temporal resolution of the neuroimaging\rtechniques available today is way too slow[20] to detect\rany kind of quantum processing in the human brain. \r\r\rTo date, we do not fully understand the underlying\rphysics of the brain; consequently, we are influencing\rprocesses (for instance, when we use brain stimulation\rfor clinical purposes in neuroscience) that we do not\rcompletely understand. \r\rA better understanding of the\rbrain’s underlying processes is needed before those\rbrain stimulation treatment techniques can be applied\rwithout any risks.[21] F\r\r\rFinally, perhaps the time has\rcome to re-think physics,[22] and although classical\rand quantum mechanics have helped us to describe\rnature;\r\r in fact, what is really needed to take the next\rstep is to consider the whole universe/nature as simple\rinformation[23] in which the human brain/organism is\ronly a tiny information processing system embedded\rin and interacting with that universe/nature.[6]\r\r