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Pitkänen, M., Are Lithium, Phosphate & Posner Molecule Fundamental for Quantum Biology?

Exploration

Are Lithium, Phosphate & Posner Molecule Fundamental for
Quantum Biology?

Matti Pitkänen 1

Abstract

In this article I compare the work of Fisher proposing that phosphate ion and calcium phosphate
known as Posner molecule are fundamental for quantum neuroscience. Phosphate ion show nuclear
spin could serve as qubit able to get enzymatically entangled and make possible a transfer of qubits.
Posner molecule would serve as unit of quantum memory. I describe first what might be called
Lithium mystery, which served as a motivation of Fisher and summarize also the TGD view about
the role of Lithium. The model of Fisher for how phosphate ion and Posner molecule could play
a central role quantum neural processing is described. I also summarize the TGD view about the
situation suggesting that Posner molecule might indeed have deep role. What puts bells ringing is
that ELF radiation at frequencies equal to multiples of 15 Hz cyclotron frequency for Calcium ion
in endogenous magnetic field Bend = .2 Gauss was found by Blackman and others to have effects
on vertebrate brain. Furthermore, the cyclotron frequency of phosphate ion in endogenous magnetic
field Bend corresponds to the 10 Hz alpha resonance frequency defining a fundamental biorhythm.

1 Introduction

I encountered a very interesting Facebook link (see http://tinyurl.com/zyy3b4l) to the work of Mathew
Fisher [2] (see http://tinyurl.com/hd3t6sr) related to quantum biology.

I attach below the abstract of the article of Fisher.

The possibility that quantum processing with nuclear spins might be operative in the brain is
proposed and then explored. Phosphorus is identified as the unique biological element with a
nuclear spin that can serve as a qubit for such putative quantum processing - a neural qubit
- while the phosphate ion is the only possible qubit-transporter. We identify the ”Posner
molecule”, Ca9(PO4)6, as the unique molecule that can protect the neural qubits on very long
times and thereby serve as a (working) quantum-memory.

A central requirement for quantum-processing is quantum entanglement. It is argued that the
enzyme catalyzed chemical reaction which breaks a pyrophosphate ion into two phosphate ions
can quantum entangle pairs of qubits. Posner molecules, formed by binding such phosphate
pairs with extracellular calcium ions, will inherit the nuclear spin entanglement. A mech-
anism for transporting Posner molecules into presynaptic neurons during a ”kiss and run”
exocytosis, which releases neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft, is proposed. Quantum
measurements can occur when a pair of Posner molecules chemically bind and subsequently
melt, releasing a shower of intra-cellular calcium ions that can trigger further neurotransmitter
release and enhance the probability of post-synaptic neuron firing. Multiple entangled Posner
molecules, triggering non-local quantum correlations of neuron firing rates, would provide the
key mechanism for neural quantum processing. Implications, both in vitro and in vivo, are
briefly mentioned.

1Correspondence: Matti Pitkänen http://tgdtheory.com/. Address: Karkinkatu 3 I 3, 03600, Karkkila, Finland. Email:
matpitka6@gmail.com.

ISSN: 2159-046X DNA Decipher Journal www.www.dnadecipher.com

Published by QuantumDream, Inc.

http://tinyurl.com/zyy3b4l
http://tinyurl.com/hd3t6sr
http://tgdtheory.com/
mailto:matpitka6@gmail.com


DNA Decipher Journal | December 2016 | Volume 6 | Issue 3 | pp. 185-189 186

Pitkänen, M., Are Lithium, Phosphate & Posner Molecule Fundamental for Quantum Biology?

In the sequel I describe the Lithium mystery which served as a motivation of Fisher and also TGD
view about the role of Lithium. The model of Fisher for how phosphate ion and calcium phosphate known
as Posner molecule could play a central role quantum neural processing is described. I also present TGD
view about the situation suggesting that Posner molecule might indeed have deep role. ELF radiation
at frequencies equal to multiples of 15 Hz cyclotron frequency for Calcium in endogenous magnetic field
Bend = .2 Gauss was found by Blackman and others to have effects on vertebrate brain. Furthermore,
the cyclotron frequency of phosphate ion in endogenous magnetic field Bend corresponds to the 10 Hz
alpha resonance frequency defining a fundamental biorhythm.

2 Lithium mystery

The starting point of Fisher was a very interesting finding challenging the hypothesis about life as mere
bio-chemistry. Already in 1986, scientists at Cornell University examined the effects of the two isotopes
of Lithium on the behavior of rats. Pregnant rats were separated into three groups. One group was given
Li7, one group was given the isotope Li6, and the third served as the control group. Once the pups were
born, the mother rats that received Li6 showed much stronger maternal behaviors, such as grooming,
nursing and nest-building, than the rats in either the Li7 or control groups.

Li6 therefore as has a positive effect on maternal behaviour unlike Li7. The chemistry is exactly the
same. According to the popular article, Fisher believes that the higher nuclear spin of Li6 could give it
special role.: in the article he talks about nuclear spin J = 1/2 which cannot be true since the spin must
be even. As a matter fact, according to my Nuclear Physics by Howard Li7 has nuclear spin of J = 3/2
units whereas Li6 has nuclear spin J = 1 so that neither of the above claims is correct. Could the bosonic
character of Li6 nucleus provide an alternative explanation? In any case, the finding strongly suggests
that magnetic fields are involved.

Lithium - presumably Li6 - has also other positive effects. If the positive effects are indeed due to Li6

isotope, the dose of Lithium could be reduced by using only Li6 isotope. I attach here the abstract of the
article that I wrote as a reaction to discussions with my friend Samppa who told about Lithium [6] (see
http://tinyurl.com/j44epwp).

Lithium has been used for more than 50 years as a mood stabilizer in manic depression.
During last years Lithium has been studied intensively and found that it can be used also
in treatment of schizophrenia and many other brain disorders. The effectiveness of Lithium
is however difficult to understand in the standard framework of biology. In TGD framework
organism-environment pair of standard biology is replaced with the triplet magnetic body -
organism -environment. Magnetic body uses biological body as sensory receptor and motor
instrument. This suggests that the re-establishment of communications of brain with some
level of the magnetic body is how lithium causes its positive effects. Magnetic body does not
receive information about brain and cannot control it since dark Lithium ions and correspond-
ing cyclotron radiation are not present. The disorders caused by the lack Lithium and other
biologically important ions would therefore be something totally new from the perspective of
standard neuroscience.

TGD explanation for the effects of Lithium relies on the notions of magnetic body and dark large
heff = n× h photons, electrons, and ions and relies on cyclotron frequencies as frequencies assignable to
the dark photons responsible for the communications between magnetic body and biological body. In this
picture the charge of the ion and its total magnetic moment would be relevant rather than only nuclear
magnetic moment characterizing also neutral atoms (which could also contribute to the magnetic moment
of ion). Cyclotron frequencies would replace Larmor frequencies.

1. For Li6 the cyclotron frequency is about 50.0 Hz in the endogenous magnetic field Bend = .2 Gauss
explaining the quantal effects of em fields at ELF frequencies on vertebrate brain reported by the

ISSN: 2159-046X DNA Decipher Journal www.www.dnadecipher.com

Published by QuantumDream, Inc.

http://tinyurl.com/j44epwp


DNA Decipher Journal | December 2016 | Volume 6 | Issue 3 | pp. 185-189 187

Pitkänen, M., Are Lithium, Phosphate & Posner Molecule Fundamental for Quantum Biology?

pioneers of bio-electromagnetism such as Blackman [1] to occur at multiples of cyclotron frequency
in this magnetic field for Calcium ion and also for other biologically important ions. For Ca+2 ion
the cyclotron frequency is 15 Hz. Thanks to the large value of heff = n × h dark photons would
have energies above thermal threshold. An attractive hypothesis is that the energies are in the
range of bio-photon energies (visible and UV).

2. In the case of Li6 the dark photons would make possible communication to and control by the
magnetic body relevant for maternal behaviors. Magnetic fields oscillating at 50 Hz frequency are
known to have biological effects [5]. The size of the corresponding magnetic body part would be
obtained from the wavelength λ = 2πR (R denotes the radius of Earth) of the lowest Schumann
frequency 7.8 Hz as L = (7.8/50) × R = .98 × R. This suggests that dark magnetic flux tubes
assignable with Earth are involved: not however that the field strength is 2BE/5.

3. For Li7 the dark photons would have cyclotron frequency about 42.9 Hz, which brings in mind the
thalamocortical resonance with frequency around 40 Hz assigned to consciousness at the time when
the use of the word ”consciousness” ceased to be pseudo-science. The more abundant Li7 (92.5 per
cent) should be also important but could be associated with other kinds of biological functions.

3 Phosphate, Posner molecule, and cognition

Fisher as also other quantum biologists tries to understand quantum biology as an improvement of
biochemistry. One assumes that standard quantum theory brings in small effects allowing to optimize
biological functions. In the case of the avian navigation and also in many other situations the problem
is that Earth’s magnetic field is only 2 per cent of the minimum magnetic field at which the proposed
radical-pair mechanism is found to work [7] (see http://tinyurl.com/jnxvdmf). To my opinion much
more radical approach challenging the basics of quantum theory itself is necessary.

Fisher wants to identify the quantum mechanism behind neural activity assumed to rely on nuclear
spins. This is quite a demanding challenge. One should understand long coherence time for nuclear
spins representing the qubits, discover a mechanism transporting the qubit through the brain to neurons,
identify a molecular scale quantum mechanism entangling qubits, identify a chemical reaction inducing
quantum measurement of the qubits dictating the subsequent neuron firing, and understand what happens
in nerve pulse transmission from pre- to post-synaptic neuron at quantum level.

1. Fisher assigns fundamental qubit and the ability to develop lon lasting quantum entanglement with
phosphate ion (see http://tinyurl.com/zgbgtwy). Phosphate ion would be qubit transporter.
The transfer of phosphate ion from APT to a molecule is fundamental part of metabolism and the
TGD proposal is that a transfer of negentropic entanglement (purely TGD based notion involving
p-adic physics as correlate for cognition) is in question.

2. Enzyme catalyzed qubit entanglement would emerge in the reaction ATP→ AMP+PPi. PPi is
diphosphate ion with entangled phosptate and the reaction PPi→ Pi+Pi would create two entan-
glement phosphates. The reaction rate is proposed to depend on whether the 2Pi state is spin single
or spin triplet.

3. Quantum memory is assigned with so called Posner molecule [(PO4)−3)]6Ca+2
9 made of 6 phosphate

ions and 9 calcium ions would be the key player. Posner molecule belongs to a family of calcium
phosphates having as building bricks PO−3

4 and Ca+2 ions (see http://tinyurl.com/jftjmro).
Calcium phosphate is the principal form of calcium found in bovine milk and blood. 70 percent
of bone consists of hydroxyapatite, a calcium phosphate mineral known as bone mineral. Tooth
enamel is composed of almost ninety percent hydroxyapatite.

Posner molecule is neutral since the charges of 9 Ca ions and 6 phosphate ions cancel each other:
9 × 2 − 6 × 3 = 0. Geometrically Posner molecule can be described as a cube with Calcium ions

ISSN: 2159-046X DNA Decipher Journal www.www.dnadecipher.com

Published by QuantumDream, Inc.

http://tinyurl.com/jnxvdmf
http://tinyurl.com/zgbgtwy
http://tinyurl.com/jftjmro


DNA Decipher Journal | December 2016 | Volume 6 | Issue 3 | pp. 185-189 188

Pitkänen, M., Are Lithium, Phosphate & Posner Molecule Fundamental for Quantum Biology?

at corners and center and phosphate ions at the centers of faces. The nuclear spin of the Posner
molecule assignable to phosphates is 0, 1, 2, or 3. Posner molecule has also reduced rotational
degrees of freedom characterized by group Z3 giving rise to pseudospin. Posner molecule would
be a carrier of phosphate qubits giving rise to (working) quantum-memory realized in terms of
entangled Posner molecules.

4. Fisher proposes the notion of quantum entangled chemical reactions. This notion does not make
sense if one identifies chemical reactions as processes involving state function reduction as assumed
in chemical kinetics. The notion could make sense if chemical reactions are identified as unitary
time evolutions for entangled systems such as Posner molecules. In TGD framework the notion of
entangled time evolutions could make sense in zero energy ontology (ZEO).

5. Nerve pulse tranmission from pre- to postsynaptic membrane would entangle neurons by entangling
Posner molecules. Biochemistry is complex but to my opinion the proposed model is too complex
to be feasible. My view is that the enormous complexity of the description based on biochemical
reaction pathways reflects the failure to realize the presence of control level - magnetic body. Situ-
ation would be like trying to understand the functioning of computer program regarding it as mere
physical phenomenon without any idea about its purpose.

4 TGD view

In TGD framework both nuclear spins and angular moment of dark nuclei in the magnetic fields assignable
to dark magnetic flux tubes would be important: Larmor frequencies would be replaced with the sums
of Larmor - and cyclotron frequencies assignable to (usually) charged particles. It is interesting to look
whether the cyclotron frequencies of phosphate and Posner molecule could teach something about their
possible role.

1. Phosphate PO−3
4 with mass number 31+4×16 = 95 has cyclotron frequency 9.5 Hz in the endogenous

magnetic field Bend = .2 Gauss assumed in TGD model: this is 10 Hz in the accuracy with which
Bend is known. This frequency is in alpha band! For smaller charges -2 and -1 one has frequencies
6.26 Hz and 3.13 Hz. In TGD framework the transfer of phosphate from ATP to the acceptor bio-
molecule could be at the fundamental level transfer of negentropic entanglement from metabolites
[3, 4]. This could reduce to the transfer the ends of the associated flux tubes between the molecules.

2. Posner molecule is neutral since the charges of 9 Ca ions and 6 phosphate ions cancel each other:
9× 2− 6× 3 = 0. Being neutral Posner molecule as a whole does not couple to the magnetic field
except through its total magnetic moment. TGD proposal that ions form Bose-Einstein condensates
encourages however to consider the possibility that the building bricks of Posner molecule form
separate Bose-Einstein condensates. One can ask whether this is possible also more complex calcium
phosphates: could bones be much more than just passive building bricks?

The simplest possibility is that 3 Cooper pairs of fermionic PO−3
4 molecules (as is easy to check

by noticing that phosphorus and oxygen atoms are bosons and there are surplus 3 electrons: note
that phosphorus nucleus is fermion and oxygen nucleus a boson) form a Bose-Einstein condensate
a their own circular portion of flux tube. 9 bosonic Ca+2 ions would form similar Bose Einstein
condensate at their own flux tube portion. The value of heff proportional to the mass of the ion
by heff = hgr hypothesis. The formation of Cooper pairs of phosphate ions would conform with
the conjecture of Fisher that two phosphate ions can entangle.

The cyclotron frequencies of these Bose-Einstein condensates would be 9.5 Hz resp. 15 Hz in
Bend = .2 Gauss. This model could allow to improve the understanding about why the radiation at
harmonics of 15 Hz has effects on vertebrate brain and also about the realization of alpha rhythm
as a control signal from magnetic body. Fisher proposes that in nerve pulse transition two Posner

ISSN: 2159-046X DNA Decipher Journal www.www.dnadecipher.com

Published by QuantumDream, Inc.



DNA Decipher Journal | December 2016 | Volume 6 | Issue 3 | pp. 185-189 189

Pitkänen, M., Are Lithium, Phosphate & Posner Molecule Fundamental for Quantum Biology?

molecules fuse temporarily and produce a spray of Ca+2 ions. This could make sense also in TGD
framework.

These observations put the bells ringing - with a frequencies of 10 Hz and 15 Hz, one might say.
Unfortunately this frequency is not directly audible, so that I cannot hope that colleagues would hear
the ringing! There are however some hopes: also 10 Hz and 15 Hz can be made audible as difference of
frequencies fed to right and left ear! Maybe some experimentalist could get interested!

References

[1] Blackman CF. Effect of Electrical and Magnetic Fields on the Nervous System, pages 331–355.
Plenum, New York, 1994.

[2] Fisher MPA. Quantum Cognition: The possibility of processing with nuclear spins in the brain).
Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/1508.05929, 2015.

[3] Pitkänen M. Macroscopic Quantum Coherence and Quantum Metabolism as Different Sides of the
Same Coin: Part I. In Bio-Systems as Conscious Holograms. Onlinebook. Available at: http:

//tgdtheory.fi/public_html/hologram/hologram.html#metab, 2006.

[4] Pitkänen M. Macroscopic Quantum Coherence and Quantum Metabolism as Different Sides of the
Same Coin: Part II. In Bio-Systems as Conscious Holograms. Onlinebook. Available at: http:

//tgdtheory.fi/public_html/hologram/hologram.html#molephoto, 2006.

[5] Pitkänen M. Quantum Model for Bio-Superconductivity: I. In TGD and EEG. Onlinebook. Avail-
able at: http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/tgdeeg/tgdeeg.html#biosupercondI, 2006.

[6] Pitkänen M. Lithium and Brain . Available at: http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/articles/

lithiumbrain.pdf, 2016.

[7] Pitkänen M. Can quantum biology really do without new physics? Available at: http://tgdtheory.
fi/public_html/articles/RPMTGD.pdf, 2016.

ISSN: 2159-046X DNA Decipher Journal www.www.dnadecipher.com

Published by QuantumDream, Inc.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1508.05929
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/hologram/hologram.html#metab
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/hologram/hologram.html#metab
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/hologram/hologram.html#molephoto
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/hologram/hologram.html#molephoto
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/tgdeeg/tgdeeg.html#biosupercondI
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/articles/lithiumbrain.pdf
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/articles/lithiumbrain.pdf
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/articles/RPMTGD.pdf
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/articles/RPMTGD.pdf

	Introduction
	Lithium mystery
	Phosphate, Posner molecule, and cognition
	TGD view

