Noetic Diffusion Theory: A Rhythmic, Geometric Framework for Neural State Reconstruction and Conscious Correlates

We present Noetic Diffusion Theory (NDT), a mechanistic account of neural state dynamics that provides measurable correlates of conscious experience through timeresolved denoising on a learned geometric manifold. While we propose these dynamics may be constitutive of consciousness itself, our empirical claims are limited to
systematic neural-phenomenological correlations. The Meta–Noetic Diffusion Model (MNDM) formalizes the process as a guided stochastic differential equation with an
adaptive information geometry and a rhythmic variance schedule. Rhythmic Variance Control (RVC) maps the schedule to cross-frequency coupling and thalamo-cortical gating via the TRN Variance Gate (TRN–VG), while the Embodied Anchoring Principle (EAP) conditions denoising on interoceptive self-priors.

To make NDT measurable, we introduce the Noetic Atlas over the Meta–Noetic Phase Space (MNPS) and a composite Noetic Diffusion Health Index (NDHI) that integrates manifold topology, recurrence structure, curvature smoothness, dimensionality, and metastability. We derive falsifiable predictions: step-wise entropy reductions timelocked to slow-oscillation–spindle events; phase-specific denoising during wake (theta–gamma phase–amplitude coupling); sleep as curriculum (NREM centralization, REM expansion, late-night reintegration); and disorder-typical geometric signatures (depression: collapsed volume/over-recurrence; psychosis: fragmented connectors/shallow recurrence).

We provide simulation results illustrating how rhythmic schedules reproduce wake–sleep trajectories and modulate geometry, and we outline a preregistered analysis plan on public datasets to test the theory without new data. Code for MNDM simulation and the Noetic Atlas/NDHI pipeline will be released. Together, these contributions position NDT as a rhythmic, geometry-first framework complementary to predictive coding/active inference, with clear empirical hooks and clinical pathways (geometric pharmacology).