The Physical Basis of Feelings

What is a feeling? The fact that anaesthetics work on single-celled protists suggests analogous processes operate at the cellular level. Anaesthetics disrupt chiral-induced spin polarization of electrons in respiratory complex I. Spin polarization generates magnetic fields, which we show can synchronize electron transfer through parallel, multi-cristae arrays of complex I. Opposing cristae generate an oscillating field strong enough to modulate plasma-membrane voltage-gated channels. But why electromagnetic (EM) fields? Metabolism dynamically generates electrical membrane potential, while being powered by it. The balance of electrostatic to EM fields act as an integrated real-time readout, allowing cells to infer their physiological state from incomplete information. We propose that EM states guide action in single-celled organisms, and were later elaborated by selection as the physical basis for feelings.