2023/03/09 by Dorje C. Brody, Brody, Dorje C · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Biological sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC) #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2303.06055
openalex publication_date 2023/03/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The cognitive state of mind concerning a range of choices to be made can effectively be modelled in terms of an element of a high-dimensional Hilbert space. The dynamics of the state of mind resulting form information acquisition is characterised by the von Neumann-Lüders projection postulate of quantum theory. This is shown to give rise to an uncertainty-minimising dynamical behaviour equivalent to the Bayesian updating, hence providing an alternative approach to characterising the dynamics of cognitive state that is consistent with the free energy principle in brain science. The quantum formalism however goes beyond the range of applicability of classical reasoning in explaining cognitive behaviours, thus opens up new and intriguing possibilities.