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Quantum Interference in Cognition: Structural Aspects of the Brain

Authors:
Sandro Sozzo
Diederik Aerts

Keywords: concept theory; quantum cognition; cognitive processes; interference; brain structure.

Abstract:
We identify the presence of typically quantum effects, namely superposition and interference, in what happens when human concepts are combined, and provide a quantum model in complex Hilbert space that represents faithfully experimental data measuring the situation of combining concepts. Our model shows how `interference of concepts' describes the effects of underextension and overextension when two concepts combine to the disjunction of these two concepts. This result supports our earlier hypothesis that human thought has a superposed two-layered structure, one layer consisting of classical logical thought and a superposed layer consisting of quantum conceptual thought. Possible connections with recent findings of a grid-structure for the brain are analyzed, and consequences on applied disciplines, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computation, are considered. These results suggest that quantum models can be successfully employed to operationally describe the brain functioning, but they do not presuppose a microscopic quantum explanation of such functioning.

Pages: 33 to 41

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2012

Publication date: August 19, 2012

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-3530

ISBN: 978-1-61208-214-1

Location: Rome, Italy

Dates: from August 19, 2012 to August 24, 2012