Linoleic acid's concentration in the membrane of neurons or glia acts as a control parameter (corresponding to temperature for magnetic systems), effectively behaving like a switch in a system close to criticality, i.e. resulting in a phase transition between a normal brain and a pathological brain when the linoleic acid concentration falls below its set value.
1. A consensus view holds that anesthetics act by van der Waals forces in hydrophobic pockets of select brain proteins to ablate consciousness. 2. What is consciousness? Enigmatic features of consciousness (e.g. 'qualia', binding, non-computability, pre-conscious—>conscious transition, nondeterministic free will) may be explained by the occurrence of quantum coherent states in the brain. 3. Van der Waals electron pair couplings (London forces) in hydrophobic pockets in non-anesthetic (conscious) conditions are a particular type of quantum capable of supporting macroscopic quantum coherence. 4. The mechanism of anesthetics may be to inhibit electron mobility and London forces necessary for quantum states and consciousness in hydrophobic pockets of select brain proteins