The cascading implications of empirical confirmation of the embodied experience → default state → neuroprotection chain
Abstract
This paper explores the broad implications of a hypothetical chain: embodied experience → calibrated inner compass → right-hemisphere-leading functioning → more direct memory encoding → neuroprotection.
If this chain were to be empirically confirmed, it would not touch on a single subfield but on the foundations of multiple disciplines simultaneously — from developmental neuroscience and Alzheimer’s research to education, mental healthcare, and contemplative traditions.
The analysis concludes with a reflexive meta-problem: the very instrument we would use to validate the chain is itself shaped by the process the chain describes.
Keywords: default mode network, hemispheric lateralization, neuroprotection, embodied cognition, developmental neuroscience, contemplative science, Alzheimer’s prevention
Link to complete paper: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22500815
