Examining the 'Orch OR' theory and the role of Microtubules in Consciousness For centuries,

human beings have asked themselves one of the most critical questions that still remain
unanswered today – what is consciousness? Recent research suggests that microtubules, protein
polymers found in cells, could be a key to unlocking the mystery. This blog post examines the
role of microtubules in consciousness and how quantum mechanics could be at play.

In 1994, physicist Sir Roger Penrose suggested that consciousness might arise from a quantum-
level process within structures neuroscientists regard as microtubules. The Proposed
Orchestrated Objective Reduction ( Orch OR ) is a biologically supported philosophy of mind
that encompasses a theoretical view of consciousness, proposing that microtubules can maintain
quantum states, and that these structures are what are targeted when individuals are given
anesthetics. Penrose's arguments have been criticized and praised over the years because it
challenges one of the fundamental tenets of modern physics—namely, that all physically
realizable systems can be fully described using computable or algorithmic functions, along with
the popular and generally conceived notion that consciousness arises from the electrical signals
performed at the synapses propounded by classical neuron doctrine.

If such theory can be excepted as accurate, (OR) provides a way for conscious states to emerge
from within physical systems, requiring additional non-physical ingredients. In Penrose's book
The emperor's new mind, an exploration of aspects puzzle on computability, Roger Penrose
argues that certain aspects of human consciousness cannot be explained by computational
processes alone.

According to Penrose and his line of thinking ,he proposes that there are incomputable
ingredients required for human consciousness, which lie in areas where current physicalist,
materialist, or theoretical biological systems lie incomplete; there is no doubt that certain
reductional states can be viewed as true, but only within the confines of rules of the particular
system. Furthermore, This post is an attempt to expound some of the more obscure notions
pertaining to Penrose's argument of non-computatblilty and how it relates to his proposed
Orchestrated objective reduction theory (Orch OR).

I first want to clarify the reader by providing a concise definition, taken from The Oxford
Dictionary of Psychology, of what consciousness is, defining it as "the waking state of human
beings; perceptions; thoughts; feelings; awareness of the external world; self-awareness." My
intention is to rescue the reader away from this physicalist notion that the brain is really just an
algorithmic computer, taking in inputs and spewing outputs that the hard AI activist may want
one to believe. This encompassing proclamation that deems your unique stream simply in an
algorthtmic and deterministic sense of awareness is the counter position to the claim that Penrose
makes, which is that we cannot be explained by computational processes alone, suggesting that a
non-computable ingredient is necessary to account for some aspects of human consciousness.
Microtubules are hollow tubes made up of proteins found inside every cell in our bodies. They
form thin sheets of neural fibres, forming intricate scaffolding structures that form the walking,
talking, thinking, and perceiving complex organelles we are known to be. The intricate patterns
that can be observed on the surface of the rod-like designs are densely packed with proteins
called tubulin. They act as a transporter protein, providing support and shape to cells and
efficiently organizing the various organelles and neural structural components at the microscopic
level. Microtubules possess several unique properties that make them ideal for many cellular
processes.

Firstly, they have elasticity - they can elongate or contract depending on the needs of the cell
without compromising their structural integrity. This property allows them to be used in various
cellular activities such as mitosis, muscle contraction, axon guidance, and cell motility [60].

Secondly, they have dynamic instability - this means that their growth rate is not constant but
instead fluctuates over time [61]. This allows them to quickly respond to internal or external
signals by rapidly growing or shrinking in size. Finally, microtubules also possess polarity -
meaning that each end of the microtubule has different physical characteristics

[62].

This property allows them to be used for directional transport within cells by attaching various
cargoes at either end, depending on where it needs to go. Penrose proposed that when certain
conditions are met within the closed system, these microtubules serve as a container for
particular quantum states or particle superpositions, in which all possible outcomes within its
structure exist simultaneously, but it is only until one observes the state of the microtubule which
would direct the form to 'collapse the wave function and selects one outcome.'

Orchestrated objective reduction (OR). And Stuart Hameroff, an anesthesigiolist who worked to
propound the theory alongside Roger Penrose believes that this (OR) process is responsible for
moments of conscious awareness and attention, and that when certain anesthetics are introduced
into the system prevents consciousness by dampening terahertz vibrations in microtubules inside
the brains neurons; it is also speculated that psychedelics enhance such vibrations. Overall while
Sir Roger Penrose's and Stuart Hameroffs proposed mechanism of 'Objective Reduction'
provides an interesting potential solution to explaining certain non-computable features found
among human consciousness, thoughts, and actions - a further exploration into neuronal and
biophysical aspects associated with this phenomenon are required before any definitive
conclusions can be made about its plausibility or implications of our understanding of conscious
experience.
Penrose allows us to conclude that microtubules may play a role in consciousness by forming a
container for quantum states within the intricate cylindrical patterned tubes.

N/A. (n.d.). ' Consciousness'. In Oxford Dictionary of Psychology. Oxford University Press.

Hameroff, S., & Penrose, R. (2013). Consciousness in the universe: A review of the "ORCH
OR" theory. Physics of Life Reviews, 11, doi: 10.1016/j.plrev.2013.08.002.

Sir Roger Penrose & Dr. Stuart Hameroff: CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE PHYSICS OF THE
BRAIN / January 10, 2020, Roth Auditorium - Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine
La Jolla, CA: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xGbgDf4HCHU&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE