the theory of dualist interactionism was proposed by the nobel-prize winning neurophysiologist sir john eccles in association with the philosopher karl popper. their theory explained how a non-physical mind can influence a physical body, how an immaterial mind can influence in a causal sense a material neural synaptic network.
eccles sought to locate a precise physical interface where the immaterial mind could exert top-down control over neural architecture without violating the laws of thermodynamics.
pyramidal cells are the primary excitatory neurons found in the mammalian cerebral cortex. they act as the principal “output” channels of the cortex. pyramidal cells feature a long, prominent branch called the apical dendrite that travels toward the outermost layer of the cortex, layer 1, where it branches out into an apical dendritic tuft. the apical dendrites cluster tightly in bundles of about 70-100, constituting a pyramidal module. eccles considered the module as the fundamental functional unit of the cortex. he hypothesized that the immaterial mind generates non-material units, or wave forms, with specific amplitudes and frequencies corresponding to the wave forms of a synchronous, module referred to as a “detector.” when one has an intention, thought or desire these wave forms act to stimulate encoded action potentials that transmit complex specified information with anticipated outcomes or actions through modular dendrites, somata and axons.
eccles proposed that the mind’s intention does not forcefully “fire” a neuron. instead, the immaterial mind’s wave forms subtly alter the quantum probability of neurotransmitter release (exocytosis) at the vesicular level in the synapses of the apical tufts. he and physicist friedrich beck proposed that mental intention triggers a quantum tunneling effect which slightly alters the probability of a single synaptic vesicle to release its neurotransmitters across the synapse to an apical dendrite, stimulating thereby an action potential in the receptor neuron. this process uses quantum indeterminacy so that the law of thermodynamics is not violated.
in my books and blog posts i have discussed this process in great detail. with the aid of AI i have identified a precise locus in cerebral modules where the causal effects of an immaterial mind act on synaptic networks. this is a rapidly developing area of investigation in the neurosciences, reflecting the technological advances being made to reveal the mechanisms of dual interaction.