Emergent flow theory: autonomic coherence as a gain parameter for the temporal architecture of conscious integration

Abstract

Contemporary neuroscientific theories of consciousness—including Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNW), Integrated Information Theory (IIT), and the Predictive Processing/Free Energy Principle (PP/FEP)—have not formalized autonomic and neuromodulatory state as explicit dynamic control parameters within models of conscious integration. This gap constitutes the explanatory niche addressed by the Emergent Flow Theory (EFT). EFT proposes that consciousness-supporting cortical integration is organized across three nested temporal regimes: ΔTᵢ (autonomic-interoceptive, ~50–200 ms), ΔTₚ (conscious access, ~200–500 ms), and ΔTᶠ (phenomenological-narrative, ~500 ms–3 s)—understood as functional approximations of dominant processing epochs rather than discrete neural compartments. The core theoretical claim is that autonomic coherence (γ), operationally indexed by heart rate variability (HRV), functions as a system-level gain parameter modulating the probability and quality of transitions between these regimes. This relationship is formalized in a phenomenological dynamic equation for a latent integrated-complexity state Q, constrained observationally by measures such as the Perturbational Complexity Index (PCI): dQ/dt = κ·γ·Σ(n,k) [αnk · g(ΔTnk)] − βQ + ξ(t) [ Master Equation — Integrated Cortical Complexity Q ( γ denotes the dimensionless, latent effective autonomic gain parameter; γ̂ is its empirical estimator, used for calibration and testing but not written into the equation itself )]. Five empirical predictions (P1–P5), each with explicit adjudication criteria, are derived from this architecture — with P4 comprising a falsifiable existence test (P4a) followed by conditional model discrimination (P4b) — targeting the HRV–PCI covariation profile, transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation effects on conscious access markers, stress-induced ΔTᶠ disruption, the functional form of the observable γ̂–PCI relationship as an empirical constraint on the latent γ–Q hypothesis, and salience network causal contributions. EFT is offered as a Tier-2 theoretical framework complementary to GNW, IIT, and PP/FEP, situating autonomic coherence as a proposed physiological precondition within which the integrative capacities described by these frameworks may be realized.