Science & Technology

Quantum operations in the brain may give rise to consciousness, study finds

By T.K. Randall
February 20, 2026

Image: AI-generated (Bing AI / Dall-E 3) The study, which was carried out at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, determined that microscopic hollow tube structures - known as "microtubules" - found deep in the brain may be responsible for giving rise to consciousness in rats and potentially also in humans.

What's more, these structures may actually perform calculations in the quantum realm.

The research adds further credence to the idea that quantum physics may be the underlying mechanism for consciousness - an idea that has been gaining traction in recent years.

It was first proposed back in 1990 by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose who hypothesized that "each time a quantum wave function collapses... in the brain, it gives rise to a moment of conscious experience."Due to the nature of quantum physics, if this was the answer to how consciousness arises then it could also mean that an individual's consciousness is entangled with other consciousness across the universe, making it a part of a "web" of consciousness spanning the entire of existence.

In other words - we could all be connected on a quantum level, even to civilizations on other worlds.

As things stand, much of this is still unproven, but as an answer to the nature of consciousness, it is certainly one of the more plausible theories.

Whether it will ever be possible to know for sure, however, remains unclear.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Tags: Consciousness