Before Fragmentation: A Longitudinal N=1 Study of Pre-Symptomatic Coherence Across Physiological, Interoceptive, and Narrative Layers

Correspondence: avanzorft.com This preprint reports an N=1 longitudinal study of cross-scale coherence measurement using Root Extension, an iOS application developed as part of the Root Frequency Theory (RFT) research program. Root Frequency Theory (Avanzo, 2026a) proposes that experiential continuity — the coherent sense of self across time — emerges from synchronized activity across five nested regulatory layers: cosmological (C0), biological (C1), neural (C2), symbolic (C3), and experiential (C4). Fragmentation is defined as a self-reinforcing cascade of cross-scale misalignment that propagates downward through these layers before becoming visible as symptoms at C4. The M-RFT metric (Avanzo, 2026b) formalizes this: M = (Φ · Kₑ) / F, where Φ proxies cardiorespiratory coherence, Kₑ = IA × NC integrates interoceptive accuracy and narrative coherence, and F indexes regulatory burden derived from HRV. Root Extension implements this metric on consumer hardware (iPhone + Apple Watch) through a three-stage protocol: physiological (HRV via HealthKit), interoceptive (heartbeat detection task adapted from Garfinkel et al., 2015), and narrative (NLP-scored free-text via the Claude API). The researcher serves as the sole subject; the app is simultaneously the intervention and the measurement instrument. 321 sessions across 23 days reveal a theoretically significant divergence between objective coherence scores and subjective self-report (r = .186) — interpreted not as a validity failure but as evidence that the instrument is capturing pre-reflective regulatory state that conscious introspection cannot accurately access. The scaffold was reading the system that was building it. This is a research invitation. The data structure is ready. The next step is a formal N=20–40 within-subject validation trial under institutional IRB infrastructure. The author is actively seeking laboratory collaboration and supervisory partnership. Embargo lifts June 2026. Simultaneous release with M-RFT metric paper (Avanzo, 2026b).