In my next blogs I shall include comments and quotations from several authors in neuroscience that describe the complex, wonderful molecular motors of synaptic transmission. These discoveries have been made possible by advances in technology and expand on the theories of such neuroscientists as John Eccles, Friedrich Beck, Thomas Sudhof, Danko Georgiev and others whom I have quoted in previous blog posts and in my books.

Why am I including these blogs? We remember that all aspects of synaptic transmission have been created by God, providing for what God always intended for His relationship with humankind, a bidirectional, personal communion between God and Man. No, it is not necessary for one to understand the how of this communion, but there are those for whom an understanding will lend strength to their faith, based on evidence of such a relationship spoken to in Scripture and restored by the sin sacrifice of Jesus Christ who sent as He promised the Holy Spirit to indwell us in repentance.

Professor Mikhail Reshetnikov is a Meritorious Scientist of the Russian Federation. He authored an article published in Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal on January 25, 2019, entitled Methodological Background and Foundations of the Non-Material Theory of the Psyche. I am including several quotes from his article in which he provides evidence for the non-material nature of the psyche, or cognitive mind of humans.

“Mental activity is viewed as a kind of informational exchange and interaction, as well as accumulation and processing of information. . . . Nobody would deny that the brain and the nervous system are material structures regulating activities of internal organs, reflex reactions and adaptive functions of the organism, and mental activity is based on these structures. But the essence of mental activity is different. We accumulate information, process and verify information, produce information. . . . Information is understood by contemporary academic science as a non-material factor. . . . the founder of cybernetics N. Wiener emphasized that information is neither matter nor energy, information is information. . . . Only information carriers (biological, paper, electronic etc.) are material. . . . Information as such, on a carrier but without a perceiving subject, is virtually non-existent. Only living beings, and most of all, humans can be subjects of its perception, as well as produce, carry, store and verify non-material information. . . . Generally speaking, the phrase ‘we think with the brain’ is as absurd as the phrase ‘we walk with the spinal cord’ just because it relates to motility impulses. . . . it is not the computer that remembers something, finds it, calculates or analyses it. It is done by the non-material software, without which a computer is just a piece of metal. Similarly, the brain without the psyche which was formed under the influence of a society is just a biological substrate, a tissue that includes synapses, chemical mediators, nervous centers, transmitters, etc., but nothing more than that.”

It is encouraging that this distinguished scientist gives strong support to dualist interactionism between the immaterial mind and the material components of the brain. Yes, Mortimer Adler stated that we need our brains to think, but we do not think with our brains. I have addressed the several points made by the author in my books and blogs.

I have referred to the work of Danko D. Georgiev in previous posts and in my books. He authored an article that was preprinted in August, 2020 entitled “Quantum Information Theoretic Approach to the Mind-Brain Problem,” Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology. He challenged material reductionism in his introductory statement, “The brain is composed of electrically excitable neuronal networks by the activity of voltage-gated ion channels” [reference to which was given in my last blog post]. “Further portraying the molecular composition of the brain, however, will not reveal anything remotely reminiscent of a feeling, a sensation or a conscious experience. In classical physics, addressing the mind-brain problem is a formidable task because no physical mechanism is able to explain how the brain generates the unobservable, inner psychological world of conscious experiences and how in turn those conscious experiences steer the underlying brain processes toward desired behavior [a topic I have addressed in detail in my books]. . . . Comprising consciousness of unobservable quantum information integrated in quantum brain states [superpositions] explains the origin of the inner privacy of conscious experiences and revisits the dynamic timescale of conscious processes to picosecond conformational transitions of neural biomolecules. . . . Thus, quantum information theory clarifies the distinction between the unobservable mind and the observable brain. . . . the mind and the brain are not identical . . . the mind-brain problem is to explain how the unobservable conscious mind and the observable brain relate to each other: do they interact . . . ?” [My research has addressed this very question extensively.]

Georgiev continues describing a most complex process, “. . . the dynamic timescale of conscious processes is consistent with picosecond conformational transitions of neural biomolecules. Examples of picosecond protein dynamics, which is directly related to the neuronal processing of information, include regulation of conductance of voltage-gated ion channels, activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors by neurotransmitter binding, or vibrational motions of the alpha-helix backbone involved in the conformational flexibility of SNARE proteins that drive exocytosis of synaptic vesicles. In contrast, the observable brain dynamics of electric spikes propagating along neuronal projections at a millisecond timescale describes transfer of classical information, which is triggered by quantum processes.”

“The minimal molecular machinery capable of driving synaptic vesicle fusion is comprised of only three SNARE proteins: synaptobrevin, syntaxin and SNAP-25 [I have discussed the proposed function of these proteins in my books]. These three SNARE proteins zip together to form a bundle of four alpha-helices referred to as the core SNARE complex. The twisting of the 4-alpha-helix bundle inside the core SNARE complex applies a traction force that drives the fusion of the opposing phospholipid bilayers of the synaptic vesicle and the plasma membrane. The zippering of the core SNARE complex is potent enough to drive synaptic vesicle exocytosis . . . In different neuron types, the process of exocytosis is regulated by different sets of SNARE master proteins that effectively set the potential energy barrier for vesicle fusion . . . . Classical particles are forbidden from entering spatial regions where the particle energy is less than the potential energy . . . whereas quantum particles are not . . . . the quantum wavefunction . . . needs to be continuous throughout space, which allows the quantum particle to tunnel through the potential energy barrier . . . and appear on the other side. . . . quantum quasi-particles . . . are able to transport energy along the protein and could trigger conformational transitions. . . . In the case of SNARE zipping, the role of the barrier is played by the calcium sensor synaptotagmin, which clamps the SNARE complex in partially zipped conformation. Quantum tunneling . . . through the barrier may induce full zipping of the SNARE complex and trigger exocytosis. In essence, massive proteins do not quantum tunnel, whereas quantum excitations propagating [as quasi-particles] along the proteins do. Quantum tunneling of such excitations could act as a trigger that steers the overall protein motion . . . into one of two alternative classical paths. Thus, cortical neurons that have surpassed . . . the voltage threshold for the generation of electric spike, are able to amplify the quantum dynamics of SNARE proteins at individual axonal buttons into a macroscopic pattern of active synapses that release neurotransmitter molecules. . . . The dynamic timescale of the underlying quantum processes is on the order of picoseconds.”

Is it possible that Georgiev has also given a description of the “non-material energy” to which I have referred in my latest blog posts, an energy that actualizes interaction between the immaterial mind and the material components of the synaptic networks? I will continue to monitor more recent articles from the neurosciences, seeking clarification of these most complex mechanisms. I strongly suggest to those readers who find this topic of interest to access Georgiev’s work.

As I continue my research into interaction between the immaterial mind and the material components of the human brain, I occasionally post blogs that express speculation, as I did in my books. Neuroscience research is ongoing, and the articles published in mostly peer review journals also include speculations. It is my hope that speculations I post will stimulate critical thinking and direct efforts to clarify cognitive activity and how it interacts with the brain in dualist interaction.

Matthew S. Scarnati and his coauthors published an article in Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience in April, 2020 that addressed the function of presynaptic calcium channels and their relation to action potential waveforms. In previous blog posts I have addressed research that increasingly shows that cognition generates wave forms that interact with neural synaptic components, likely by way of quantum tunneling. This article refers to action potential wave forms and how both the depolarization and repolarization of ionic channels activate the passage of calcium ions that leads to the release of synaptic transmitters into synaptic clefts. I quote from the article, “Determining the change in open probability of presynaptic calcium channels and taking into account how local calcium concentration also changes throughout the action potential are both necessary to fully understand how the action potential triggers neurotransmitter release.”

My take away from this article coupled with others I have addressed in recent blogs leads me to the following speculation: Action potentials are wave forms with varying amplitudes, frequencies, durations and shapes as pointed out by the authors. The wave forms are specified and transmit neural codes within the spike trains. They impact the superposition of atomic components of molecular structures (electrons, hydrogen bonds) within ionic channels, and by quantum tunneling quasiparticles pass through voltage barriers to activate protein conformational changes that process calcium entry into synaptic terminals. It is a stochastic process, and the authors shared that the release probability is up to 25 percent of calcium channels that are rendered active at the end of action potential passage. The influx of calcium ions into presynaptic terminals leads to vesicle fusion with cleft membranes creating pores through which synaptic transmitters pass to stimulate excitatory postsynaptic action potentials. In a recent blog I discussed that quantum tunneling of quasiparticles is involved in this process that transmits wave forms along coherent synaptic networks to achieve specified actions.

My research will continue to seek confirmation of points made in this post. I seek explanations for dualist interaction between the immaterial mind of Man (and Mind of God) and the material components of the synaptic networks of the human brain involving a non-material energy. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in repentant mankind was restored by the sin sacrifice of Jesus Christ and provides His access to the human spirit and soul (mind, will, emotion). By the wonderful mechanisms created by God a personal bidirectional communion is possible with our Lord and Savior, as He intended at the Creation of Adam.

My interest in the tufts of pyramidal apical dendrites is long standing, and I have addressed aspects of their function in earlier blogs. As I reviewed Friedrich Beck’s article referenced in my July 2nd blog I noted his comments about these tufts. The neocortex consists of six lamina. “The pyramidal apical dendrites finish in a tuft-like branching in lamina I.” He stated that he was in agreement with Fleischhauer and coworkers who published articles in 1984 and 1987 that posited that “the apical bundles of dendrites . . . are the basic anatomical units of the neocortex. . . . It has been proposed that these bundles are the cortical units for reception [Italics added], which would give them a preeminent role.” Specifically, can the function of the tufts be expanded to possibly include reception of cognitive wave forms?

The tufts lie at the surface of cortical modules in lamina I and are known to have numerous neural interconnections with the dendritic tufts of adjacent and distant modules. Within modules are specific baseline wave frequencies, amplitudes and shapes that serve as “detectors” of nerve impulses as proposed by Eccles and noted in previous blog posts. I ask if wave forms generated by the cognitive mind pass across cortical modules and become linked with synchronous modular wave forms via the neural spines of apical dendritic tufts? Such a process would enable neural codes within specified wave forms to be transmitted through coherent synaptic networks to stimulate activities. In asking this question I am accepting the immateriality of the cognitive mind and its capacity to generate wave forms that interact with the material synaptic networks of the brain, a dualist interaction.

In my books and blogs I have addressed the role of a “non-material energy” in the transmission of neural codes within spike trains of action potentials through coherent, synchronous synaptic networks, refuting the reductive materialism so prevalent today. Action potentials are characterized by electrochemical reactions which arrive at presynaptic vesicular grids where there exists an activation barrier against the opening of ionic channels. The arrival of action potentials stimulates calcium ions to move through ionic channels into the interior of presynaptic terminals. Molecular and electronic configurations of the components of synaptic vesicles and membranes bordering synaptic clefts are excited by these ions into metastable levels referred to as quasiparticles. Does a similar process occur within ionic channels driven by action potentials? The metastable levels consist of electrons and hydrogen bonds which are altered from superposition states to unstable states which lead to the unidirectional processes of exocytosis. The motion along a given direction occurs by quantum tunnelling through the potential, or activation, barriers. The time scale for this action is in pico- to femtoseconds and corresponds to the quantal dynamics of electron transfers. Molecular transformations that occur between synaptic vesicles and cleft membranes cause membrane fusion and the formation of pores through which synaptic transmitters are released into synaptic clefts. I submit that the metastable level of quasiparticle formation that sets into motion quantum tunnelling can be considered the “non-material energy” of the activated state. It is this energy that serves as the quantum trigger for exocytosis. Might the non-material energy of the Mind of God and the mind of Man act at these sites by this mechanism? There is evidence that cognition generates specified wave forms that can tunnel. Is there an interaction between the proposed wave forms and the wave functions of molecular components in superposition within ionic channels, synaptic vesicles and cleft membranes that leads to exocytosis? Could such a process relate to Hebrews 11:1 that mentions “evidence of things unseen?”

I refer the reader to the article by Friedrich Beck entitled “Synaptic Quantum Tunnelling in Brain Activity.” It was published in NeuroQuantology in June 2008. It is a key article that reveals a link between spike trains of action potentials and the quasiparticle wave function which tunnels through potential barriers of synaptic vesicles and cleft membrane components resulting in the transmission of neural codes along synaptic networks. The synaptic quantum trigger identified by Beck frees the physical processes of synaptic transmission from the strict determinism of a classical mechanistic picture. Beck regarded “exocytosis as a candidate for quantum processes to enter the network [of synaptic transmission], and thus regulating its performance.” Within his quantum trigger model is likely the “non-material energy” that enables coherent synaptic transmission, a dual process of interaction between what is immaterial and material.

Current investigators in the neurosciences are accepting in increasing numbers the microsite hypothesis of John Eccles that I have discussed in my writings and his work in collaboration with Friedrich Beck. I strongly recommend this article to you since it is relevant today to the processes of neural transmission under active investigation. I continue the search for concordance between scripture and science in explaining the process of minds in communion.

Mikhail Reshetnikov is a Meritorious Scientist of the Russian Psychoanalytic Institute who argues for the non-materiality of the psyche. He developed an hypothesis of the brain as having a biological interface with mental activity, the psyche, which transmits information. In his 2018 article, “Non-Material Theory of the Psyche: Historical Prerequisites, Argumentation and Practical Implications,” he “compares the brain with the computer hardware, on the one hand, and the psyche with the software, on the other.” This is a common analogy. Specified information emanating from a mind is encoded within spike trains of action potentials and transmitted through coherent synaptic networks, a topic I have discussed in my books and several blogs. He states in his article that “academic science is currently viewing information as a non-material factor, so that only its carriers (biological, paper, electronic etc.) are material.” He went on to state that “it is not true that the nervous system controls the psyche but rather the psyche controls the nervous system including the central nervous system.” His points are consistent with many that have been cited in my writings. He includes a saying taken from the scientific community, “However much effort you put into dissembling the radio, you won’t find the music inside!” And music is a beautiful and creative form of specified information.

My research continues, focusing on the mechanisms of synaptic transmission and ultimately how they interact with the immaterial mind. I have identified a few “loose ends” that I will be addressing in my next blog posts. These include the following: just what is a quasiparticle; how does it relate to quantum tunneling and the immaterial/nonmaterial energy of the cognitive mind; what is its role in the stimulation of synaptic transmission; what is the role of ionic channels in this process, focusing on calcium ionic channels and how calcium ions function in the release of synaptic transmitters; and finally I will discuss the “trigger” for synaptic exocytosis that was identified by John C. Eccles and Friedrich Beck. In my books and in several blogs I have given variable degrees of attention to each of these topics, but I will endeavor to bring them all together functionally so an understanding of synaptic transmission is obtained by the reader (and myself!). Ultimately I will endeavor to present more compelling evidence for dualist interactionism between the immaterial mind and the synaptic networks of the human brain, an elaborate process created by God by which we have bidirectional communion with the Mind of God.

Danko Georgiev wrote an article entitled “A Linkage of Mind and Brain: Sir John Eccles and Modern Dualistic Interactionism,” published in Biomedical Reviews, 2011: 22: 81-84. I am posting quotes from that article that relate to points I have shared in my books and blogs.

The author shared that the nature of the mind-brain relationship is poorly understood. He states that “the roots of the problem lie within the causally closed deterministic structure of classical materialism.” In his article he discusses “how the quantum dualistic interactionism proposed by Sir John Eccles could resolve these problems.” I have provided much evidential support for dualist interactionism in my writings and have included support for an open indeterminant universe, components of which are governed by quantum mechanics. Georgiev states that “the behavior of elementary physical particles [is] inherently indeterministic so that one cannot predict exactly the future state of an individual particle, only the probability with which [a] given future state could occur. The dynamics of individual quantum particles is governed by a wavefunction. . . . The indeterminism in quantum mechanics stems from the fact that when the particle interacts with other particles only one of the possible states is actualized.” Indeterminism allows quantum components to be open to influences outside a classical material universe, including an immaterial cognitive mind as I have discussed in my writings.

“Sir John Eccles, who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse, was one of the first who understood the importance of quantum mechanics for resolving the mind-brain problem.” He proposed “that mental events can cause brain events.” According to Georgiev “it is possible to construct a theory in which mind and brain states interact: the brain state produces deterministically a mind state after which the mind state makes an indeterministic choice from multiple possible alternatives and selects a future brain state.” In his concluding remarks the author acknowledges the increasing number of neuroscientists who think that quantum theory supports dualist interactionism as proposed by Eccles. He states, “Attestation for that are the plethora of recent models based on the nanoscale organization of the neurons in which the mind states can affect the brain through quantum effects.” He refers to “the experimental verification of quantum tunneling for hydrogen transfer in enzyme-catalyzed reactions, quantum quasi-particle assisted folding of proteins and microsecond quantum coherence in the retina” permitting navigation by the sensing of Earth’s magnetic field by certain birds. I have presented data confirming electron transfers in synaptic transmission.

In my two books and selected blogs I have presented discussions of the mechanism of neural synaptic transmission. I emphasize that the mechanism is under active investigation and is most complex. I will not post any discussion of the mechanism as being substantiated by neuroscientific data, but like other investigators I am willing to offer proposals based upon what is currently known. In the following blog I am posting a proposal in general terms. As my research continues, I will modify it as new data is forthcoming. Fundamental to my research is the demonstration of concordance between neuroscience and Scripture where communion between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit, soul and brain are concerned. We can commune with God via prayer, and we can also receive communion from Him in our time through His created synaptic networks. It is a bidirectional communion that gives glory to our Creator God.

The cognitive mind has the capacity to generate wave forms with specific amplitudes and frequencies. The wave forms constitute an immaterial, or nonmaterial, aspect of energy that enables information transmission to and through the material synaptic network components of the human brain. It is a dualist interaction between immaterial and material entities, as has been presented in my books and blogs. Information specified with meaning, purpose and intended action is generated by the cognitive mind (including the Mind of God, the ultimate Source of all information), and the “causal glue” that links specified information with the brain’s synaptic networks is this immaterial energy that is distinct from the classical electrochemical energy of action potentials.

Through a lifelong process of learning neural codes are generated for every action and intention. The codes are stored in neural modules as memory, for example within the modules of the supplementary motor areas of the frontal cortex. The codes have intrinsic amplitudes and frequencies and serve as detectors that can link with the input of wave forms generated by the cognitive mind that have the same wave characteristics. By synchronizing with additional modular neurons sufficient energy is probabilistically exerted via quantum tunneling in ionic channels and the vesicles of presynaptic terminals to generate action potentials at postsynaptic junctions. Quantum tunneling serves as the “trigger” for the transmission of neurotransmitters across synaptic clefts so that spike trains of action potentials are transmitted through coherent synaptic networks. Direction is given to their trajectories by this process so that intended actions result by the action of stimulated nerve and motor receptors.

In my most recent blog posts I have given mention to Bohm’s quantum potential, Q. Bohm considers it “mind like,” consisting of “active information.” I have shared that information transmitted through neural synaptic networks is only generated by an immaterial mind which assigns specificity to it with meaning, purpose and intended action. The information is encoded within the patterns of wave forms and ultimately the spike trains of action potentials. What might be the role of Q, the quantum potential energy, that is distinct from potential and kinetic energy and is proposed to act at synaptic junctions? It has been suggested that it reduces the height of the potential energy at barriers so that wave forms can be transmitted through potential barriers without an expenditure of energy, thereby preventing a violation of the law of conservation of energy. This action permits the generation of an action potential at the postsynaptic junction when wave forms with specified amplitudes and frequencies are successfully transmitted. Again, that wave forms are detected by modular wave forms with the same or very similar amplitudes, frequencies and also shapes establishes synchrony between multiple wave forms having sufficient energy to generate action potentials in specific regions of the brain. The process determines the direction for the trajectories of encoded spike trains. Information is transmitted through specific synaptic networks so that intended actions occur.

the mechanism for synaptic transmission is most complex but efficient, reflecting an intelligent design that permits dualist interaction between the Mind of God, the mind of Man and the human brain. I hope this proposal summary contributes to an understanding of the wonderful process of minds in communion.