The Domain Loop Model: Grounding Consciousness Science in Whole-Body Homeostatic Computation

Contemporary consciousness theories predominantly focus on neural computation, conceptualising the body as sensory input rather than a constitutive substrate. This neglects a key biological reality: consciousness arises from organisms composed of trillions of cells engaged in continuous homeostatic computation, with neurons representing less than 1% of total cellular information-processing. The Domain Loop Model proposes that consciousness emerges from organisms that not only prioritise survival but also care about it, manifesting through three hierarchically organised domains: interoceptive (whole-body homeostatic computation), exteroceptive (environmental information through predictive perception), and narrator (integration that constitutes conscious experience). Interoceptive signals carry evolutionary priority due to the existential consequences of homeostatic failure—this concern for survival creates the fundamental asymmetry in conscious experience. Drawing on clinical observations (Hartshorn (2) interoceptive opacity permits pathological persistence; (3) epigenetic mechanisms encode precision across timescales from days to decades; and (4) consciousness evolves through biological encounters—viral infections, microbiome changes, metabolic shifts—that physically reorganize the computational substrate. The model accounts for phenomena that current theories struggle to explain, such as chronic anxiety persistence despite uncertainty reduction, enduring post-viral consciousness changes, and biological substrates underlying individual anxiety vulnerability. The framework is the first consciousness theory integrating transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, operating across timescales from acute homeostatic shifts to generational inheritance. This suggests research directions that measure immune, metabolic, epigenetic, and microbiome markers alongside neural activity, and clinical applications that integrate physiological and interpretive interventions.