Allostatic Precision-Gated Ignition (APGI) Framework: Preregistered Protocol Battery
Dimitry Pesochin
August 24, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.17605/osf.io/yk29g (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Study protocol (registration of statistical analysis plan) Preregistered |
|---|---|
| Key points | This document is a registration that locks the statistical analysis plan for the APGI Protocol Battery, specifying sample sizes, power analyses, and hypotheses to test whether interoceptive precision gates conscious access independently of exteroceptive signal strength. |
Abstract
This registration locks the statistical analysis plan for the empirical Protocol Battery (Protocols 0–7) supporting the Allostatic Precision-Gated Ignition (APGI) framework, a computational theory of consciousness integrating Global Neuronal Workspace Theory, the Free Energy Principle, and interoceptive inference. The battery tests whether interoceptive precision (indexed by heartbeat-evoked potential) gates conscious access independently of exteroceptive signal strength, across psychophysics (Protocol 1), fMRI (Protocol 3), metabolic-state manipulation (Protocol 4), TMS (Protocol 5), iEEG (Protocol 6), and a clinical disorders-of-consciousness biomarker study (Protocol 7), gated by an empirical HEP-proxy validation step (Protocol 0). Sample sizes, power analyses, and primary/secondary hypotheses for each protocol are specified in the sections that follow. Expected outcome: a pre-specified, falsifiable adjudication of APGI's core predictions against Global Neuronal Workspace Theory and Integrated Information Theory.