Subjectica: Sensory Circulation

Contemporary cognitive science increasingly acknowledges the embodied nature of perception, decision-making, and subjective experience. However, dominant models continue to treat bodily signals primarily as secondary correlates of cognitive or emotional processes, rather than as primary regulators of cognitive orientation. This paper introduces the concept of sensory circulation as a foundational regulatory mechanism underlying embodied cognition. Building upon prior works Subjectica: A Lateralized Embodied Model of Cognitive Stance and Subjectica: Sensory Circulation and Pre-Motor Readiness in Embodied Decision-Making, the present article formulates sensory circulation in academic terms as a dynamic, attention-modulated flow of afferent and proprioceptive signals distributed across bodily configurations. Attention is conceptualized not as a purely mental act, but as a functional mechanism that enables, amplifies, or inhibits sensory circulation through specific bodily regions. We argue that variations in bodily configuration—such as tonic distribution, asymmetry, axial organization, and segmental accessibility—directly shape the character of the sensory stream. This stream, in turn, establishes a stable cognitive background from which perception, motivation, and decision-making emerge. Narrative self-reports, conscious intentions, and explicit reasoning are treated as secondary products of this regulatory process rather than its causal origin. By reframing the body as an operational interface of subconscious regulation, this paper positions sensory circulation as a primary determinant of cognitive orientation. This approach offers a non-interpretive, observable framework for analyzing embodied decision-making, bridging phenomenological experience with neurobiological and behavioral dynamics.