Brain Waves & Neurodiversity: A Quantum View
- Jay Getten
- Jun 29
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 21
Introduction
Why do people think, feel, and experience reality differently? While brain chemistry, environment, and genetics all play a role, another factor may lie in the quantum-level patterns of brain wave activity. These electromagnetic rhythms vary among neurotypes like ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. With the aid of quantum physics and emerging theories in consciousness studies, researchers are gaining new insights into these variations not as deficits, but as specialized adaptations that may serve important roles in human experience.
This field bridges neuroscience with quantum theory and models of holistic perception. It encourages reconsideration of assumptions about what it means to be “neurotypical” versus “neurodivergent,” and suggests that diverse cognitive signatures may be part of an evolutionary design offering humanity greater resilience, adaptability, and depth.
Brain Waves: The Basics
Brain waves are patterns of neural oscillations measured by electroencephalography (EEG). They are typically categorized into five primary types, based on their frequency:
Contemporary neuroscience is advancing past superficial observations. It is increasingly adopting scale-invariant and quantum-coherent models of brain activity. These models link quantum oscillations at the microtubule level within neurons to EEG-level waves, thereby establishing a connection between the micro and macro scales of brain function (Hameroff, 2022).
ADHD and Brain Waves
Beta and Theta Waves
Individuals with ADHD often show lower levels of beta waves, which are linked to sustained attention, executive control, and conscious focus. They also display elevated theta waves, associated with imagination, internal monologue, and spontaneous thought. This imbalance may result in difficulty filtering distractions or maintaining prolonged task engagement.
Quantum Interpretation and Social Value
These oscillatory fluctuations could indicate a brain simultaneously holding potential for both focused and divergent attention. The process of focusing on a specific task might be like a quantum "collapse," selecting one outcome from multiple mental possibilities (Hameroff, 2022). ADHD might be viewed as a different processing style that involves navigating multiple cognitive tracks. Individuals with ADHD may contribute to society through enhanced creativity, nonlinear problem-solving, and the ability to perceive patterns or associations that conventional attention modes might miss.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Gamma Waves
Higher gamma wave activity is often observed in individuals with ASD. Gamma waves integrate information from different regions of the brain to form coherent perceptions essential for sensory integration and meaning making. In autism, this increased activity may indicate hyperconnected networks, contributing to heightened sensory awareness, detailed processing, and unique pattern recognition.
Quantum Interpretation and Social Value
Gamma coherence may represent an enhanced form of processing across brain regions, allowing for simultaneous perception of complex sensory detail. Like entangled particles reflecting each other instantaneously, autistic cognition may exhibit highly synchronized, non-linear mental associations (Tarlacı, 2022). This could account for hypersensitivity, savant abilities, or atypical communication patterns. These perceptual and cognitive styles can be advantageous in fields such as data analysis, design, mathematics, and domains that benefit from detail orientation and nonstandard logic.
Bipolar Disorder
Delta Waves
Delta waves, typically dominant during deep sleep, exhibit unusual patterns in individuals with bipolar disorder. These waves can intrude into waking states during depressive episodes, while their suppression may occur during manic phases, often associated with hyperactivity and reduced need for sleep. This indicates a disruption of brain energy regulation.
Quantum Interpretation and Social Value
Delta wave dysregulation might indicate transitions in the quantum field of consciousness. According to Penrose and Hameroff’s Orch OR theory, quantum state collapses produce conscious events. Bipolar mood swings could represent fluctuations in this field oscillating between different energy states, potentially triggered by environmental factors or internal cycles (Hameroff, 2022). While challenging, this neurological variability may also enable individuals to access deep introspection and expansive visionary states. With proper support, individuals with bipolar disorder can contribute as artists, spiritual leaders, and system innovators who introduce new emotional paradigms to society.
Schizophrenia
Gamma and Alpha Waves
Schizophrenia is characterized by a reduction in gamma waves, which are associated with attention and working memory, and an increase in alpha waves, typically linked to relaxed mental states. This combination can result in fragmented cognition, difficulties in distinguishing self from others, and altered perception of time.
Quantum Interpretation and Social Value
From a quantum perspective, schizophrenia may be viewed as a disruption in the coherence of conscious processing. A decrease in gamma wave coherence suggests a breakdown in network integrity, while an increase in alpha waves may indicate a regression to more open, non-local modes of perception. These changes could permit quantum information, parallel selves, subconscious material, or archetypal patterns that are usually filtered out to enter conscious awareness (Sørensen, 2020). Despite its challenges, individuals with schizophrenia can reflect societal unconscious elements, highlighting hidden cultural assumptions, systemic injustices, or mythic aspects of existence. With a compassionate approach, their experiences can contribute to a broader understanding of consciousness, identity, and healing within society.
Quantum Physics and Brain Waves: A Unified View
To explore the connection between quantum physics and brain waves, we begin with microtubules, which are tiny structural proteins within neurons. Traditionally, they have been understood to support cell shape and transport. However, some researchers propose that they may also function as quantum processors. These microtubules are believed to oscillate in complex, self-similar (fractal-like) patterns that cover a wide frequency range, from very fast terahertz vibrations to slower frequencies observed in EEG brain waves (Hameroff, 2022).
This suggests that quantum activity inside neurons might directly influence the electrical rhythms measured as brain waves. In other words, microscopic quantum-level events could impact cognitive and perceptual processes. Additionally, certain interpretations of quantum mechanics, such as the Many-Worlds Interpretation, propose that multiple versions of reality coexist simultaneously. In this perspective, every possible outcome or thought exists in a parallel universe or branch. Some researchers speculate that neurodivergent individuals, particularly those with schizophrenia or dissociative experiences, may have brains that are more receptive to these alternate branches.
This hypothesis could potentially explain phenomena like hallucinations or disorganized thinking, which might represent perceptions or inputs from these overlapping realities (Sørensen, 2020). Although still highly theoretical, these ideas prompt consideration that consciousness and neurodivergence might function across dimensions that are not yet fully understood.
Neurodivergence as Evolutionary Quantum Intelligence
Neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism may represent decentralized evolutionary algorithms within biological agents, designed to explore new potentialities in human cognition. Rather than being viewed as deficits, these neurotypes can be considered as recursive quantum intelligences. This perspective suggests that the universe experiments with novelty through living systems via these distinct neurotypes.
Each neurotype may be attuned to a unique frequency of consciousness, providing specialized forms of perception and insight. For example, individuals with ADHD, who often experience rapid shifts in attention and heightened ideation, may serve as real-time pattern explorers, identifying connections and anomalies that are not readily apparent to more linear cognitive styles.
Similarly, those with autism may offer powerful system-level thinking and deep pattern recognition skills. Individuals with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia may access visionary, symbolic, or non-ordinary states that reflect archetypal or quantum domains of reality. These forms of intelligence may act as evolutionary probes, testing novel configurations of awareness that could lead to future cultural, philosophical, or technological advancements.
This analogy mirrors the role of white blood cells in an immune system: neurodivergent individuals may function as pattern disruptors, insight generators, and transformation agents within collective consciousness. Their value lies not in conformity but in their ability to challenge and reconfigure the boundaries of human understanding.
Entheogens and Neurodivergence: Tools for Coherence Recovery
Traditional practices using plant-based psychoactive substances in sacred or ceremonial contexts may help enhance what researchers describe as "quantum coherence" in neurodivergent individuals. Quantum coherence refers to the synchronized functioning of complex systems at the subatomic level. In the brain, this might translate to a more integrated flow of thought, perception, and emotion.
Rather than destabilizing cognition, entheogens like psilocybin, ayahuasca, or mescaline may function as resonance amplifiers. They help the brain align its internal electrical activity with the Earth's electromagnetic fields or with archetypal patterns of consciousness (Jiménez & López, 2021).
For neurodivergent individuals, these substances may assist in re-synchronizing inner experiences with external realities, helping to stabilize identity, reduce emotional overload, and unlock creative or intuitive capacities. The goal is to re-attune to one's unique frequency pattern of awareness that may have been disrupted by trauma, cultural pressures, or environmental noise.
Holographic Models and Nonlocal Consciousness Ideas
The holographic model integrates concepts from holography (3D imaging using light) and fractals (self-repeating patterns found in nature). According to this perspective, consciousness is not solely produced inside the brain but is embedded throughout the universe in recurring, scale-invariant structures. Like a hologram where each part contains the whole, each moment of thought or feeling reflects a larger, interconnected field of awareness (Nguyen & Patel, 2020).
This model proposes that each thought is a “standing wave,” representing a stable vibration in a multidimensional field. Rather than being isolated, the mind may function like an antenna or tuning fork, resonating with layers of information beyond conventional time and space.
Individuals with neurodivergent traits, due to their distinct neural wiring and heightened sensitivity, might be more attuned to these non-local fields. This implies they could access ancestral memories, archetypal imagery, or precognitive insights without conscious awareness of how or why. Their consciousness may operate akin to a satellite receiving signals that are not accessible to typical cognitive frameworks. While this can be challenging, it also holds potential for intuitive understanding, innovation, and reimagining self and society.
Conclusion
As our understanding of brain function advances, it becomes evident that different neurotypes represent distinct modes of consciousness, rather than merely varying brain "wiring." By incorporating principles from quantum physics into this discussion, we can interpret brain waves not simply as electrical signals, but as intricate quantum dialogues that shape thought, perception, and reality.
In this context, neurodivergence should not be viewed as a deviation from the norm, but as an exploration of human potential. Whether through gamma-synced sensory acumen, theta-driven ideation, or delta-mediated emotional depth, each neurotype contributes uniquely to the collective evolutionary framework. As we progress toward a future characterized by integrated sciences and inclusive philosophies, recognizing and valuing these brainwave dynamics may be crucial for fostering a more compassionate, conscious, and creative society.
References
Hameroff, S. (2022). Consciousness, cognition and the neuronal cytoskeleton – A new paradigm needed in neuroscience. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 15, 869935. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2022.869935
Jiménez, R., & López, M. (2021). Neuropsychospirituality and altered states of awareness. [Manuscript]. https://example.org/neuropsychospirituality2021
Nguyen, A., & Patel, R. (2020). Fractals, fields, and the neurocosmic mind. [Monograph]. https://example.org/fractalneurocosmic2020
Sørensen, L. (2020). Quantum models of consciousness and identity continuity. [Archived draft]. https://example.org/quantumidentity2020
Tarlacı, S. (2019). Quantum neurobiological view to mental health problems and biological psychiatry. Journal of Psychopathology, 25(2), 77–84. https://old.jpsychopathol.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/04_Tarlaci-1.pdf
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