"Synaptic Plasticity and Quantum Measurement: A New Perspective"

🧠 Synaptic Plasticity and Wavefunction Collapse: Is the Brain a Biological Quantum Measurement Device? In neuroscience, synaptic plasticity is often divided into two broad categories: • Homosynaptic plasticity: A synapse strengthens or weakens based on its own repeated activity (classic Hebbian learning: “neurons that fire together, wire together”). • Heterosynaptic plasticity: Changes at one synapse spill over to neighboring synapses, redistributing weights and maintaining overall balance across the network. ⸻ ⚛️ The Analogy with Wavefunction Collapse In quantum mechanics, a wavefunction represents a superposition of many possible states. Upon measurement, the wavefunction collapses to a definite outcome. Now compare this to synaptic plasticity: • Homosynaptic plasticity = local selection → one synapse undergoes direct change, like the wavefunction “choosing” a single outcome. • Heterosynaptic plasticity = nonlocal propagation → the chosen outcome constrains surrounding synapses, resembling how wavefunction collapse globally erases competing possibilities. Together, synaptic plasticity operates like a collapse mechanism: local and global processes coupled to stabilize learning. ⸻ 🌌 Vacancy Theory Perspective In Vacancy Theory (VT), observability is the core condition for existence. • Homosynaptic change = the observed result. • Heterosynaptic change = the result’s influence spreading across degrees of freedom, suppressing alternatives. Thus, the combination of synaptic plasticity mechanisms mirrors wavefunction collapse, where selection and elimination co-occur. ⸻ 🚀 Implications • The brain may not simply be an electrical network, but a biological quantum measurement device. • Learning and memory may be understood not just as “data storage,” but as processes of selecting and collapsing topological degrees of freedom. ⸻ 👉 In short: Homosynaptic plasticity = local collapse. Heterosynaptic plasticity = global collapse. Together, they echo the measurement–collapse–state selection sequence in quantum mechanics.

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