Trigeminal (APUS), Vagus (TEKOHA), Heart, mTOR, and Sleep

How a Tensional Self Emerges — and Recalibrates (from DNA to Zones 1–2–3)

When a human being enters a new environment, the nervous system must immediately answer two questions:

Where is my body?
(position, temperature, wind, proximity of other bodies)

Am I safe inside?
(heartbeat, breathing, visceral tension, energy)

But there is also a third, silent cellular question:

Is my metabolism investing in adaptive growth or in chronic defense?

This third question is answered mainly by the mTOR pathway (mechanistic Target of Rapamycin) — a molecular axis regulated by DNA that integrates energy, oxygen, inflammation, stress, and nutrient availability. mTOR is broadly understood as a central regulator of growth, stress response, autophagy, and cellular adaptation. (Nature)

The Tensional Self emerges when the following converge:

• Trigeminal nerve (APUS) → external body–territory interface

• Vagus nerve (TEKOHA) → interoceptive regulation of the internal territory

• Heart (RMSSD) → autonomic oscillator

• mTOR → cellular metabolic decision

• Prefrontal cortex (MMN, P300, N400, P600) → meaning updating

But this system does not function only during wakefulness.
It is recalibrated every night by sleep.

1. Trigeminal Nerve: the Neural APUS (Body–Territory)

The trigeminal nerve is the largest cranial sensory nerve. It transmits facial touch, temperature, pain, and proprioceptive information from the craniofacial region. The trigeminal system also participates in the trigeminocardiac reflex, a brainstem reflex capable of modulating heart rate, blood pressure, and even respiration through trigeminal–vagal interactions.

This means that the environment perceived through the face can immediately alter autonomic state.

If APUS detects persistent threat:

• sympathetic activation increases

• vagal modulation decreases

• RMSSD drops

• mTOR may shift toward a more defensive, inflammatory mode

The external territory enters the internal metabolism.

2. Vagus Nerve: TEKOHA and the Regulation of Meaning

The vagus nerve carries predominantly afferent signals from the body to the brain, influencing structures such as the nucleus tractus solitarius, insula, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex. The broader framework of neurovisceral integration links stronger vagally mediated HRV to better inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and self-regulation. 

A 2022 meta-analysis found a small but reliable positive association between vagally mediated HRV and executive functioning, especially inhibition and cognitive flexibility. 

A 2025 longitudinal study further showed that higher vagally mediated HRV predicted more adaptive regulation over time in university students. 

Balanced parasympathetic states are also associated with lower inflammatory load, which is relevant because inflammatory stress interacts with mTOR-related pathways. 

Thus, RMSSD can be treated as a peripheral marker of harmony between cellular metabolism and prefrontal regulation.

3. The Heart as Oscillator of the Self

The heart does not think, but it organizes rhythm.

Through baroreceptor signaling and respiratory coupling, cardiac dynamics influence:

• emotional processing

• stimulus detection

• decision-making

• attentional regulation

When RMSSD is balanced:

• the prefrontal cortex regulates the amygdala more efficiently

• metabolic adaptation is more flexible

• plasticity remains functional

When RMSSD is chronically low:

• sympathetic dominance increases

• inflammation tends to rise

• regulation becomes more rigid

• executive flexibility decreases

In this sense, Tensional Selves are oscillatory states that depend on metabolic harmony.

4. Zones 1–2–3 with Explicit mTOR Dynamics

Zone 1 — Functional mTOR for Action

You are productive.

• moderately activated mTOR

• functional synaptic growth

• active P300

• responsive N400/P600

• moderate RMSSD

DNA sustains useful plasticity.

Zone 1 is growth with purpose.

Zone 2 — Reduced mTOR and Refined Plasticity

You breathe deeply.

• vagal regulation increases

• RMSSD rises

• prefrontal cortex regulates the amygdala more effectively

• mTOR reduces hyperactivation

This favors:

• metabolic autonomy

• critical updating of meaning

• more stable prefrontal coordination

Zone 2 is efficient metabolism without threat.
It is the space of meaning revision.

Zone 3 — Stress-Driven mTOR Hyperactivation

Chronic threat.

• trigeminal system detects hostility

• vagal modulation weakens

• RMSSD drops

• inflammatory signaling rises

• mTOR-related regulation becomes more defensive and rigid under stress conditions (Nature)

Neurophysiologically:

• narrow P300

• reduced N400

• reduced P600

• hyperfocused but rigid prefrontal activity

Zone 3 is energy directed toward defense.

5. Where Sleep Enters: the Metabolic Cycle of the Self

Sleep is not the absence of the Self.
It is the metabolic recalibration of the Tensional Self.

N1 — Transition (Expanded APUS)

External anchoring begins to fade.

• auditory sensitivity still scans the environment

• trigeminal vigilance remains light

• sympathetic tone begins to fall

• metabolic demand starts to decrease

Transition from Zone 1 → Zone 2.

You are still there, but the world loses rigidity.

N2 — Flexibilization Without Full Critique

• sleep spindles

• K-complexes

• reduced conscious P300-like engagement

Implicit reorganization is taking place.

• vagal tone tends to rise during stable sleep

• stress-related metabolic activation is reduced

Zone 2 becomes dominant.

N3 — Deep Metabolic Downscaling

• slow waves

• reduced large-scale cortical activation

• glymphatic clearance becomes more prominent during deep sleep

• cellular restoration increases

• anabolic/catabolic balance is recalibrated across the night

Here you are not being someone.
You are being metabolism.

Deep Zone 2.

Tonic REM — Reconstruction of Position

• cortical activity rises

• body paralysis remains

• memory–emotion integration intensifies

This is a stage of internal repositioning.

Phasic REM — Emotional Reorganization (Pei Utupe)

• limbic bursts

• intense emotional recombination

• partial prefrontal decoupling

• plastic reprocessing of emotionally loaded material

Here emotion is experienced intensely without full executive censorship.

6. The Complete Cycle

Wakefulness in Zone 1
→ stress may push the system toward Zone 3
→ N2/N3 reduce defensive load
→ REM reorganizes emotion
→ awakening occurs with recalibrated probability of returning to Zones 1 or 2

Without adequate sleep:

• RMSSD declines

• metabolic regulation worsens

• inflammatory tone may remain elevated

• prefrontal control weakens

• Zone 3 becomes more stable

Sleep helps prevent Zone 3 from becoming chronic. Sleep loss is strongly linked to impaired cognition, poorer emotional regulation, and persistent physiological stress. taVNS has also shown benefits in insomnia in randomized clinical trials. 

7. Integrated Translational Model

Complete flow:

DNA
→ regulates metabolic signaling including mTOR
→ defines metabolic state
→ modulates vagal axis
→ alters RMSSD
→ influences prefrontal function
→ changes MMN, P300, N400, P600
→ shifts the probability of Zone 1, 2, or 3
→ is cyclically recalibrated by sleep

The environment enters through the trigeminal nerve (APUS).
The internal territory responds through the vagus nerve (TEKOHA).
The heart measures oscillation.
mTOR decides energetic investment.
Sleep reorganizes everything cyclically.

The Tensional Self emerges from this dynamic convergence.

8. Cross-Level Implication

If:

• chronic stress pushes metabolism toward inflammatory defense

• low RMSSD is associated with poorer executive control

• meaning updating weakens under autonomic overload

• sleep deprivation prolongs inflammatory and cognitive dysregulation

Then:

Social environments based on threat favor a collective metabolic Zone 3.

Environments based on belonging stabilize TEKOHA, harmonize metabolic regulation, and expand access to Zone 2.

This is not merely ideology.

It is physiology regulated through embodied systems shaped by DNA, metabolism, and sleep.

Final Synthesis

What you feel is not merely psychological.

It is:

• autonomic

• molecular

• metabolic

• circadian

When mTOR is harmonized,
when the heart oscillates with vagal stability,
when sleep recalibrates metabolism,
when the prefrontal cortex can update meaning,

consciousness becomes freer.

And cognitive freedom does not arise only from ideas.

It emerges from regulated nervous systems — in wakefulness and in dreams.

References

Magnon, V., Dutheil, F., & Auxiette, C. (2022). Does heart rate variability predict better executive functioning? A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 182, 218–227. PubMed summary reports a small positive association between vagally mediated HRV and executive functioning, especially inhibition and flexibility. (PubMed)

Grabo, L. M., Schulz, A., & Bellingrath, S. (2025). Vagally-mediated heart rate variability longitudinally predicts test anxiety in university students. Biological Psychology. PubMed summary indicates that higher vagally mediated HRV at the beginning of the semester predicted more adaptive outcomes later. (PubMed)

Wang, M. H., et al. (2024). Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation improves cognitive function by increasing dorsolateral prefrontal cerebral oxygenation: a randomized controlled trial. Heliyon / PubMed indexed report. The trial found improved cognition and increased DLPFC oxygenation in the active group. (ScienceDirect)

Zhang, S., et al. (2024). Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for chronic insomnia disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open. The trial found significant reductions in insomnia severity and improved PSQI scores versus sham. (PubMed)

Chowdhury, T., et al. (2022). A step further—The role of trigeminocardiac reflex in therapeutic neuromodulation. Journal of Neuroanaesthesiology and Critical Care. This review discusses trigeminal–vagal reflex pathways and cardiovascular modulation. (Lippincott Journals)

Zhang, H., et al. (2025). mTOR signaling networks: mechanistic insights and therapeutic prospects. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. This review summarizes how mTOR integrates nutrient status, stress, inflammation, autophagy, and cellular adaptation. (Nature)

Doherty, E. J., et al. (2023). Interdisciplinary views of fNIRS: current advancements, challenges, and best practices. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. This review highlights the value of wearable and ecologically valid fNIRS approaches in naturalistic settings. (Frontiers in Public Pages)

Bazán, P. R., & Amaro Jr., E. (2023). fMRI and fNIRS Methods for Social Brain Studies: Hyperscanning Possibilities. In Social and Affective Neuroscience of Everyday Human Interaction. Springer. This chapter reviews hyperscanning and social brain methods. (PubMed)

Guevara, E., Mesquita, R. C., Orihuela-Espina, F., et al. (2025/2026). Emerging panorama of functional near-infrared spectroscopy in Latin America. Neurophotonics. The article documents the expansion and feasibility of fNIRS research across Latin America. (PMC)

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