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Online ISSN 2653-4983
Online first articles
Articles not assigned to any issue
BRIEF REPORT
Quantum Potential Geometry: A Framework for Process Realism in Phenomenal Consciousness
Roman R. Poznanski
Nobelist Sir Roger Penrose has argued that consciousness is fundamentally non-computable, invoking Gödel’s incompleteness theorem to suggest that human awareness transcends algorithmic and Turing-computable processes. Within the Orch OR framework, this position extends into a form of panprotopsychism, positing protoconsciousness as a fundamental and pervasive feature of the universe. In contrast, the phenomenal form of consciousness arises as a dynamic manifestation of processual coherence within the brain’s neuropile microcavities and the resultant dynamic organicity of its functional geometry. Despite these differing premises, both frameworks converge in rejecting computational and Turing-based models of mind, directly challenging Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and other approaches that neglect the generative interplay of intrinsic curvature, effective quantum potential, and the dynamic organicity of functional geometry in the quasi-strong emergence of consciousness.
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Intracellular Calcium Dynamics in Starburst Amacrine Cell Dendrites:
The Onset of Cardinal Direction Selectivity and Speed Tuning*
N.L. Iannella
​Detecting moving objects is crucial in the animal kingdom and is fundamental to vision. In the vertebrate retina, starburst amacrine cells are directionally selective in terms of their calcium responses to stimuli that move centrifugally from the soma. The mechanism by which starburst amacrine cells show calcium bias for centrifugal motion is still to be determined. Recent morphological studies using fluorescent microscopy and immunostaining have shown that the endoplasmic reticulum is omnipresent in the soma, extending to the distal processes of starburst amacrine cells. Electron microscopy for ChAT SAC in adult rat retina unequivocally proves the presence of local endoplasmic reticulum. The submicron in diameter dendrites implies that the endoplasmic reticulum is not luminally connected between the soma and the distal tips. We construct a computational model of SAC dendrites with ER to simulate the Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release (CICR)-based calcium waves in the presence of unsaturated buffer to test the hypothesis that CICR mechanism can sustain constant calcium wave propagation in the centrifugal direction. The veto mechanism with a 100msec delay for the operation of retinal direction selectivity. is a working hypothesis, in which a CICR mechanism in the presence of local endoplasmic reticulum underlies speed tuning for directionality and propagation failure in the centripetal direction due to a build-up of calcium hyperexcitability in the distal regions of starburst amacrine cells. Modeling the heterogeneity of calcium endoplasmic reticulum in simulated starburst amacrine cells sheds light on a possible explanation for the cause ...
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BRIEF REPORT
Sentience in the animal kingdom based on radical emergence
Eda Alemdar
Sentience refers to the capacity for consciousness to emerge across the phylogenetic spectrum of animal taxa. Neuroethology provides the foundation for a comparative analysis of brain evolution and the identification of minimal neurobiological correlates of sentient organization. To support such comparative evaluation, Dynamic Organicity Theory postulates that early forms of sentience are grounded in the initial organization of neuropil microcavities and relatively undeveloped corticuli, which permit minimal forms of experiential reflectivity toward the environment. Consciousness, by contrast, arises with the formation of cognitive states sustained by complex, self-organizing interactions that generate functional unity across neural architectures—most notably within the highly folded cortical structures that support self-referential awareness and higher-order integrative processing. Phylogenetically, comparative evidence consistent with this postulate suggests that sentience evolved approximately twenty million years ago in early mammalian species exhibiting nascent neuropil microcavities, whereas consciousness, emerged only within the past few million years, in parallel with the rapid expansion of the human neocortex. From a radical-emergence perspective, the principal biological substrate of sentience is proposed to be the quantum–optical dynamics of neuropil microcavities, which underlie the transition from mere reactivity to experiential presence. From the perspective of radical emergence, the key biological substrate of sentience is proposed to be neuropil microcavities. This postulate allows to rule out alternative theories such as Orch OR, which rely on microtubules as their primary substrate.
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