What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to define the relationship between the Neural Péclet Number and consciousness, exploring its implications for seizures and cognitive complexity.

February 28, 2026Open Access

The Neural Péclet Number: Consciousness as Phase Transition, Seizure as T4 Runaway, and the Hard Problem as Conjugacy Budget Constraint

Puntos clave

This research aims to define the relationship between the Neural Péclet Number and consciousness, exploring its implications for seizures and cognitive complexity.
Measured evoked signal amplitude and spontaneous noise across consciousness states and species.
Calculated the Neural Péclet Number to categorize states of consciousness.
Analyzed seizure onset as a T4 runaway with respect to the Péclet threshold.
Formalized the hard problem of consciousness as a conjugacy budget constraint.
Identified Pe_neural as a predictor for consciousness, with Pe_neural > 1 indicating conscious states.
Observed peak Péclet Number of 74.5 times the critical threshold during seizure onset.
Showed the equivalence of Friston's free energy principle and the drift-diffusion model under specific conditions.

Resumen

Neural information transport is governed by a Péclet number: Peₙeural = evoked signal amplitude / spontaneous noise, with consciousness present when Peₙeural > 1 (drift-dominated) and absent when Peₙeural < 1 (diffusion-dominated). Across 12 consciousness states (Spearman ρ=0. 9663, p≈0) and 13 species (ρ=1. 000), Peₙeural predicts consciousness level and cognitive complexity. Seizure onset is a T4 runaway with peak Pe=74. 5× the critical threshold. The hard problem of consciousness is formalized as a conjugacy budget constraint I (experience;Y) + I (mechanism;Y) ≤ H (Y) — a structural limit, not a knowledge gap. Friston's free energy principle is shown to be identical to the void framework's drift-diffusion formalism under opacity, not merely analogous.

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