TSA — Théorie du Signal Autoréférentielle v5.0 : Décodage spectral de la communication bidirectionnelle cœur-cerveau par iEEG intracrânienne et modèle computationnel d'émergence de la conscience
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) March 12, 2026 Thierry Djebouri
The Spiral Self-Referential Theory (TSA) proposes that consciousness requires four inseparable ingredients: continuous recurrence, a physical body, multi-substrate temporality, and maturation time (heterochrony). These form a self-reinforcing spiral that converges in the prefrontal cortex, where self-reference emerges when the system models itself. The theory includes a mathematical formalization, a structural impossibility proof for large language models (LLMs), five falsifiable predictions, and a seven-constraint engineering specification for artificial consciousness. Each ingredient is grounded in 2025 peer-reviewed publications. The specific synthesis is original, co-created in a single session through exploratory human-AI dialogue.