Core-and-Matrix-Thalamic-Nuclei-Final1.pdf -...

NeuroQuantology | June 2012 | Volume 10 |Issue2|Page 
Travis, F., Core and matrix thalamic nuclei and wakefulness
Article +
Core and Matrix Thalamic Nuclei:
Parallel Circuits Involved in Content of
Experience and General Wakefulness
Frederick Travis
ABSTRACT
During development, the brain creates multilevel feedback loops critical for the generation and maintenance of consciousness.
The thalamus has a central role in these circuits. Thalamic core nuclei are part of sensory circuits that give rise to contents of
experience; diffuse thalamic matrix nuclei are part of arousal circuits that modulate levels of wakefulness. While core and
matrix circuits could be considered part of a single brain system underlying conscious experience, they can also be seen as
discrete, parallel circuits responsible for content and consciousness, respectively. Reverberations in thalamocortical core
circuits, driven by tasks and conditions, encode content. Reverberations in matrix circuits, driven by circadian rhythms and the
“value” of experience, encode fluctuations in arousal levels. This paper considers contributions of quantum events at cellular
levels to activation in thalamic matrix circuits. Considering both quantum and classical brain processing gives insight into the
relation of brain functioning and consciousness.
Key Words: Quantum effects; thalamic loops; consciousness; matrix cells
NeuroQuantology 2012 ; 2:  - 
Introduction 1
We live in a 3-dimensional world measured in
inches and seconds. Objects follow predictable
laws. If you drop a pen , it will land on the
floor. If you pour water into a glass , it will fill
the glass and stay in the glass.
In contrast, the atoms of our brain live
in a world that is 10 million times smaller than
ordinary experience, and objects in that world
follow different rules. Electrons are not
particles; rather, they are both a particle and a
wave, depending on how they are measured.
Or it may be more accurate to say that they are
neither a particle nor a wave. They are the
quantum superposition of both realities until
we make a measurement and collapse the wave
1
Corresponding author : Frederick Travis, PhD
Address: Director, Center for Brain, Consciousness and Cognition,
Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, IA 52557
Phone: + 641 472 1209
Fax: [phone]
* [email protected]
ReceivedApril 12, 2012. RevisedApril 18, 2012.
AcceptedMarch 20, 2012.
e ISSN 1303-5150
function to a wave or particle (Eisberg and
Resnick, 1985).
The brain can be understood as a
classical structure that encodes the world in
action potentials within neural circuits
comprising millions of neurons. The brain can
also be understood in terms of quantum events
a t t h e n e u r o n a l l e v e l , i.e., quantum
superposition, quantum uncertainty, and
quantum tunneling. These quantum events co-
exist with classical brain processes. By looking
at both together—superposition of both
quantum and classical events —we may gain
insight into the relation of brain functioning
and consciousness.