Neuropsychiatric Illness: A Case for Impaired Neuroplasticity and Possible Quantum Processing Derailment in Microtubules

Abstract

There is a great deal of evidence that cytoskeletal proteins, in particular microtubules, are dysfunctional in mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and affective disorder. Since cytoskeletal proteins are major arbitrators of neuroplasticity, this evidence fits with recent theories suggesting that neuroplasticity is compromised in mental illness and that the efficacy of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs may depend, at least in part, on their ability to enhance neuroplasticity. Quantum theories of mind, particularly those implementing information processing in microtubules, are useful on many levels. Quantum theories attempt to explain the more enigmatic features of mind, some of which are disrupted in mental illness. Quantum information processing theories also attempt to link molecular events at the atomic level to higher cognition. These approaches are highly ambitious, and multiple potential obstacles abound as a consequence of working in largely uncharted territory.