Quantum Interference in Cognition: Structural Aspects of the Brain
This work addresses the fundamental problem of understanding human cognition for researchers in psychology, AI, and quantum computation, proposing a novel two-layered structure of thought, though it is incremental in building on earlier hypotheses.
The paper tackles the problem of modeling human concept combination by identifying quantum-like superposition and interference effects, and provides a quantum model in complex Hilbert space that faithfully represents experimental data, explaining underextension and overextension in concept disjunction.
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' explains 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 influences on the mind/brain relation, and consequences on applied disciplines, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computation, are considered.