Dr Travis suggests that the experience of pure consciousness during practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique could reflect dampening of reverberations in the thalamic nuclei that are involved with processing sensory input while maintaining reverberations in thalamic nuclei involved in maintaining wakefulness.

Dr. Travis publishes on quantum phenomena and consciousness
by Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa, USA, The Review
19 September 2012

As scientists seek to understand the difficult problem of the nature of consciousness and its relation with brain functioning, some are turning to quantum phenomena to explain this relation.

Fred Travis, researcher in the Department of Maharishi Vedic Science at Maharishi University of Management, recently published a paper in the journal NeuroQuantology in which he posits a role for quantum phenomena in modulating activity within thalamocortical loops that are closely tied to conscious experience.

Dr. Travis describes how two parallel brain circuits that involve the cortex and the thalamus are responsible for two different aspects of experience—wakefulness and content.

Dr. Travis hypothesizes that quantum superposition and quantum uncertainty at the level of the synapse, as well as quantum tunneling that involves larger brain areas, play a role in activating the reverberations of thalamic circuits that govern wakefulness.

He suggests that the experience of pure consciousness during practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique could reflect dampening of reverberations in the thalamic nuclei that are involved with processing sensory input while maintaining reverberations in thalamic nuclei involved in maintaining wakefulness. This activity would reflect contributions from quantum processes.

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