Human high intelligence is involved in spectral redshift of biophotonic activities in the brain

TLDR

Human intelligence exceeds that of other animals, yet the brain properties responsible remain unclear; the brain’s high energy demand and the role of efficient neural communication in cognition suggest that energy‑efficient signaling may underlie superior intelligence. Using UBIS and BSAD, the authors measured glutamate‑induced biophoton activity and found a spectral redshift toward near‑infrared wavelengths in humans compared to lower animals. The observed spectral redshift in human biophoton activity may underlie high intelligence by enabling more economical and effective neural communication.

Abstract

Human beings hold higher intelligence than other animals on Earth; however, it is still unclear which brain properties might explain the underlying mechanisms. The brain is a major energy-consuming organ compared with other organs. Neural signal communications and information processing in neural circuits play an important role in the realization of various neural functions, whereas improvement in cognitive function is driven by the need for more effective communication that requires less energy. Combining the ultraweak biophoton imaging system (UBIS) with the biophoton spectral analysis device (BSAD), we found that glutamate-induced biophotonic activities and transmission in the brain, which has recently been demonstrated as a novel neural signal communication mechanism, present a spectral redshift from animals (in order of bullfrog, mouse, chicken, pig, and monkey) to humans, even up to a near-infrared wavelength (∼865 nm) in the human brain. This brain property may be a key biophysical basis for explaining high intelligence in humans because biophoton spectral redshift could be a more economical and effective measure of biophotonic signal communications and information processing in the human brain.