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2026
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19785263 |
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| _version_ | 1866902138864533504 |
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| author | Tucker, Derek |
| author_facet | Tucker, Derek |
| contents | <p>This paper presents a mechanistic hypothesis for the phenomenon of trembling under psychological stress. Contrary to evolutionary psychology interpretations that implicitly treat motor output as direct behavioral expression, we propose that trembling arises from the failure of predictive neural coding in motor control circuits. Central to this model is the state-dependent effect of norepinephrine (NE) on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR): while NE amplifies neural gain indiscriminately, the functional outcome depends entirely on the stability of underlying attractor sequences. In systems with robust, well-established attractor basins, NE sharpens signal discrimination; in systems with shallow, competing attractors, NE causes noise to flood into adjacent basins, generating non-directed micro-corrections perceived as motor errors. We integrate this core mechanism with dopaminergic modulation (Drd1/Drd2 balance), glutamate receptor trafficking (GluR1/GluR2/3), and the opponent relationship between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and lateral habenula (LHb). The model reframes trembling not as phylogenetic vestige but as real-time dynamical systems failure---specifically, the inability of selection mechanisms to resolve conflicts at the rate they are generated.</p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_19785263 |
| institution | Zenodo |
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| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
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| spellingShingle | A Neurophysiological Model of Stress-Induced Trembling: Attractor Dynamics, Signal-to-Noise Dysregulation, and Receptor Plasticity Tucker, Derek Tremor Stress Norepinephrine attractor dynamics Signal-To-Noise Ratio motor control Receptors, AMPA dopamine VTA habenula <p>This paper presents a mechanistic hypothesis for the phenomenon of trembling under psychological stress. Contrary to evolutionary psychology interpretations that implicitly treat motor output as direct behavioral expression, we propose that trembling arises from the failure of predictive neural coding in motor control circuits. Central to this model is the state-dependent effect of norepinephrine (NE) on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR): while NE amplifies neural gain indiscriminately, the functional outcome depends entirely on the stability of underlying attractor sequences. In systems with robust, well-established attractor basins, NE sharpens signal discrimination; in systems with shallow, competing attractors, NE causes noise to flood into adjacent basins, generating non-directed micro-corrections perceived as motor errors. We integrate this core mechanism with dopaminergic modulation (Drd1/Drd2 balance), glutamate receptor trafficking (GluR1/GluR2/3), and the opponent relationship between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and lateral habenula (LHb). The model reframes trembling not as phylogenetic vestige but as real-time dynamical systems failure---specifically, the inability of selection mechanisms to resolve conflicts at the rate they are generated.</p> |
| title | A Neurophysiological Model of Stress-Induced Trembling: Attractor Dynamics, Signal-to-Noise Dysregulation, and Receptor Plasticity |
| topic | Tremor Stress Norepinephrine attractor dynamics Signal-To-Noise Ratio motor control Receptors, AMPA dopamine VTA habenula |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19785263 |