From Proton Tunneling to Cognitive Attractors: A Unified Potential Model Framework | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article From Proton Tunneling to Cognitive Attractors: A Unified Potential Model Framework Krishna Kingkar Pathak This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7699717/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We present a unified potential-model framework that extends methods originally developed for proton tunneling in biomolecular systems to the study of cognitive attractors. By drawing on Cornell-type localized ansätze and symmetric double-well dynamics, we map barrier geometry, effective inertia, and noise onto neural decision and memory processes. This quantum-inspired approach yields testable predictions—such as isotope-like modulation of switching rates—and provides a quantitative bridge between molecular-scale biophysics and behavioral timescales. We support the framework with analytic formu-lae, numerical eigenvalue results, and Langevin simulations, offering a compact toolkit for investigating perceptual rivalry, working-memory stability, and decision latencies. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7699717","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":520971837,"identity":"64d7c672-9a3d-4e31-b794-27b6c4ad93ec","order_by":0,"name":"Krishna Kingkar Pathak","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA2ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCR7GBgaGAwwM/CBeQgEpWiQbQFoMiNICIoFaDA6AGMRokew53Pbwyxm7fOPzqxM/PDBgkOcXO4BfizRvY7uxzI1ky2033m6WADrMcObsBPxa5PgZ26QlPjAbmN04uwGkJcHgNnFa6g2MZ5zd/IMoLUCHtUl+uHHYwIC/dxtxtkj2HGyTZjhz3EDiBu82iwQDCcJ+kTiT/kzyx7FqA/7+s5tv/qiwkeeXJqAFBJjBcSMBVilBWDkIMP4AkfwHiFM9CkbBKBgFIw8AABq/RV+gR3AbAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Arya Vidyapeeth College","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Krishna","middleName":"Kingkar","lastName":"Pathak","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-24 05:53:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7699717/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7699717/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":92457664,"identity":"5a5fe8cf-9d1c-48fb-b2e0-71dfc93d25ff","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-30 02:47:49","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":513605,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"cognitivescience.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7699717/v1_covered_a13efc95-a110-435e-99a4-64b9954b5bd8.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"From Proton Tunneling to Cognitive Attractors: A Unified Potential Model Framework","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7699717/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7699717/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"We present a unified potential-model framework that extends methods originally developed for proton tunneling in biomolecular systems to the study of cognitive attractors. By drawing on Cornell-type localized ansätze and symmetric double-well dynamics, we map barrier geometry, effective inertia, and noise onto neural decision and memory processes. This quantum-inspired approach yields testable predictions—such as isotope-like modulation of switching rates—and provides a quantitative bridge between molecular-scale biophysics and behavioral timescales. We support the framework with analytic formu-lae, numerical eigenvalue results, and Langevin simulations, offering a compact toolkit for investigating perceptual rivalry, working-memory stability, and decision latencies.","manuscriptTitle":"From Proton Tunneling to Cognitive Attractors: A Unified Potential Model Framework","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-30 02:39:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7699717/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"f77f004f-e1c4-4559-8be8-4ffbec2ca638","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 30th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-09-30T02:39:42+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-30 02:39:42","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7699717","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7699717","identity":"rs-7699717","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}
Text is read by the "Ask this paper" AI Q&A widget below.
Extraction quality varies by source — PMC NXML preserves structure
cleanly, OA-HTML may include some navigation residue, and OA-PDF can
have broken hyphenation. The publisher copy
(via DOI)
is the canonical version.