Neurocorrelates of Real-Time Cognition

First-Person Consciousness — Brain Bee Style

I’ve always noticed something strange:
my brain doesn’t think the same way all the time.

Sometimes everything flows.
Sometimes everything tightens.
Sometimes it feels like my body starts thinking before I do.

For a long time, I assumed this was just fatigue or distraction.
But the deeper I go into Neuroscience, the clearer it becomes:

Cognition is not fixed.
It’s a living flux — a metabolic choreography unfolding second by second.

And that is exactly what the study I’m reading this week confirms:
thinking is a continuous negotiation between oxygen, posture, energy, and shifting neural networks.

1. When I think, my body thinks with me

The study shows that the brain never works alone.
It constantly coordinates with:

• my breathing,
  
  

• my muscle tone,
  
  

• my posture,
  
  

• my CO₂ levels,
  
  

• my internal rhythm,
  
  

• and even micro-movements of my eyes and head.
  
  

Each tiny adjustment creates a “micro-cognitive state” —
a specific type of thought that becomes possible only in that configuration.

Nothing fits better with the Damasian Mind:
thought emerges from the intersection of interoception and proprioception.

2. The three modes of cognition: Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3

The findings align perfectly with our model:

• Zone 1 — Natural Action

My body already knows the way.
The brain conserves energy and executes smoothly.

• Zone 2 — Fruition and Metacognition

Here, attention stabilizes.
Prefrontal oxygenation rises slightly (SpO₂ 92–94%).
The body softens and cognition expands.

This is the state where learning reorganizes itself
and I feel that silent internal widening.

• Zone 3 — Body in Survival Mode

Breathing shortens,
muscles harden,
perception narrows.

The mind loops,
reacts fast, but thinks poorly.

3. Tensional Selves: every bodily adjustment creates a new “me”

What impressed me most is this:
every bodily change creates a distinct tensional self.

Whenever I face something difficult
or learn something new,
my brain becomes unstable —
as if it needs to switch into a different “me” to handle it.

The study confirms that new information
disrupts old patterns so new networks can emerge.

In other words:

the “old me” doesn’t change;
the new bodily state perceives how the previous one was functioning.

4. Cognition as embodied prediction (Apus)

The study describes something identical to what we call Apus —
extended proprioception.

While thinking, my body anticipates
effort, timing, and movement.

Cognitively, I move inside
before I move outside.

The mind is not separate from movement;
it is internal movement.

5. Thought is Human Quorum Sensing

When I’m with others, something even deeper happens.

Breathing, posture, timing, and attention
start synchronizing across people.

This is exactly what we call Human Quorum Sensing (QSH):
belonging modulates the quality of my cognition.

Safe environments awaken Zone 2.
Threatening environments trigger Zone 3.

6. First-person conclusion — Thinking is a bodily state, not an idea

After diving into this study, one thing is clear:

My brain does not think alone.
It thinks with the body.
It thinks with the environment.
It thinks with other bodies.

And real-time cognition means:

- different breathing
- different micro-movements
- different tensional selves
- allowing Zone 2 to emerge

Attention is truly
a metabolic dance between what I feel, what I move, and what I perceive.

And now I understand:

the more I sense my body, the more I sense the world.
The more I sense the world, the more I sense who I am in that moment.