Abstract:
The canonical understanding of proprioception—the sense of self-movement and body position—is fundamentally rooted in a three-dimensional kinematic framework. While this model has been foundational, it presents critical limitations in its capacity to provide an unambiguous representation of bodily state and to integrate the predictive nature of neural processing at a fundamental level. This paper introduces a novel theoretical framework, termed Hyper-State Proprioception (HSP), which posits that the afferent proprioceptive signal is not a three-dimensional vector but a five-dimensional construct. This “Hyper-State” vector is composed of three kinematic dimensions (position, velocity, acceleration), a fourth tensional dimension (internal force/load), and a fifth predictive dimension (sensory prediction error). By incorporating tension and prediction error as intrinsic components of the primary sensory signal, the HSP framework resolves the inherent ambiguity of purely kinematic data and aligns the nature of proprioception with contemporary theories of brain function, such as predictive coding, active inference, and Bayesian inference. Drawing an analogy from theoretical physics, the tensional and predictive dimensions are conceptualized as being “compactified” at every point in the kinematic state-space, revealing a richer, higher-dimensional sensory manifold that the central nervous system navigates for motor control. This paper delineates the neurophysiological basis for each of the five dimensions, proposes a mathematical formulation and a multi-population neuronal architecture for their integration, and discusses the profound implications of this framework for understanding motor learning, neural computation, and the pathophysiology of motor disorders. Finally, we propose a series of experimentally falsifiable hypotheses to validate the core tenets of the HSP model, offering a new state-space for the self and a roadmap for future investigation into the neural underpinnings of motor control.
Yıldırım, E. (2025). Hyper-State Proprioception (HSP): A Five-Dimensional Framework for the Neuronal Encoding of Bodily State. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17048147
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