38 KiB
Tripartite Synapse — Pseudocode v14
Companion:
tripartite_synapse_v14_biology.md· principle:logic_principles(Timescale Ladder). Changes from v13: (1) every component has a plain-language intro (DAY/AP · DAY/NOT_AP · NIGHT) (2) budget refill regrouped RECEIVE → RECOVER everywhere (RECEIVE = signals only) (3) presynaptic short-term potentiation (possible_tag → VGCC occupancy) — see PRE (4) FOUR TIERS surfaced: FAST (ms–s) · MEDIUM (s–min) · SLOW (hr) · PERSISTENT (NIGHT) DECAY groups are banded by tier; the group-to-tier ladder is stated once below (5) variable-type table in conventions maps each quantity to its tier
Functional groups (seven-group grammar)
RECEIVE take in resources + signals that arrived from outside (boundary: in)
TRACE maintain the trace hierarchy — deposit fast trace; accumulate
possible_tag + endurance_need; stabilize tag on coincidence
ADJUST compute local operating parameters from structure + traces + modulators
BEHAVE the component's defining action, within both ceilings
EMIT send out — signals (messages) + resources (shipments) (boundary: out)
RECOVER refill own private pools consumed by behaving
DECAY let traces recede, closing their windows
EVALUATE merged into TRACE: judging a behavior is always maintaining a trace, whether or not a trace is written. BEHAVE and EMIT stay separate — EMIT is the output half of the locality interface (RECEIVE/EMIT are the only boundary crossings). TRACE spans all timescales: the soma's inactivation, adaptation, and nuclear-Ca deposits are all TRACE. Order within a context follows data dependencies; TRACE reads/writes whatever trace state is current.
EVERY FLOW HAS A TIMESCALE. Decay relaxes toward 0 over τ; creation/arrival relaxes toward a
target over τ — the same first-order operator. Within-step writes are the special case τ ≪ Δt.
Rate-limited inflows (fill/refill/flux·Δt) carry their τ implicitly; shipment carries an
explicit transit delay (see transit).
THE GROUPS MOVE BETWEEN TIERS (the ladder; see logic_principles "The Timescale Ladder"). Four tiers: FAST (ms–s) · MEDIUM (s–min) · SLOW (hr) · PERSISTENT (NIGHT-written). The groups move evidence UP the ladder and read capacity DOWN it:
ADJUST reads PERSISTENT ceiling + FAST trace → sets this step's operating point (down)
BEHAVE acts at FAST, bounded by the PERSISTENT ceiling (down)
TRACE deposits FAST, accumulates FAST→MEDIUM evidence, stabilizes MEDIUM→SLOW tag (up)
RECOVER refills toward the PERSISTENT ceiling (down)
DECAY relaxes FAST · MEDIUM · SLOW (PERSISTENT never decays in DAY)
NIGHT commits SLOW tag + MEDIUM endurance_need → PERSISTENT ceilings (up)
Capacity flows downward (slow sets the ceiling for fast); evidence flows upward (fast accumulates toward slow). Each component's DECAY group below is banded by tier to show this.
Conventions
SCOPE = {DAY, NIGHT} CONTEXT = {AP, NOT_AP, bAP, NOT_bAP, CONTINUOUS}
VARIABLE TIERS (timescale = meaning; see logic_principles "The Timescale Ladder")
FAST (ms–s) immediate response fast_trace
MEDIUM (s–min) occupancy + evidence possible_tag · endurance_need · VGCC_active · AMPA_surface · RRP
SLOW (hr) consolidation bridge tag
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
PERSISTENT (NIGHT) capacity (the ceilings) structure · budget_ceiling
energy (not recoverable) · material (recoverable)
DAY budget · fast_trace · possible_tag · endurance_need
BRIDGE tag (POST: CANDIDATE→STABLE)
NIGHT energy (not recoverable) · material (recoverable) · structure · budget_ceiling
LOCALITY only local state + arrived signals; no component reads another's internal state.
CLEFT MESSAGE CHANNELS SHIPMENT CHANNELS (transit-delayed)
glutamate PRE → POST, ASTRO soma_ship_dend SOMA→DEND
astro_Dserine ASTRO → POST soma_ship_axon SOMA→AXON
retro_NO POST → PRE (+) dend_ship_post DEND→POST
retro_eCB POST → PRE (−) axon_ship_pre AXON→PRE
Primitives (return the increment; caller applies it)
sat(x, K) = x / (K + x)
fill(pool, ceiling, rate, cost, budget) -> amount: // PRIVATE reserve, rate-limited (implicit τ)
amount = min(rate, ceiling - pool)·Δt; budget -= amount·cost; return amount
refill(c from supply S) -> amount: // CONTESTED supply, gap-bounded
demand = c.budget_ceiling - c.budget
factor = min(1, S / (Σ demand over components on S + ε)); S -= demand·factor
return demand·factor
ship(from_budget, demand_sig, frac, cost) -> amount: // emit into transit (not to target directly)
amount = min(from_budget·frac, demand_sig); from_budget -= amount·(1+ship_cost); return amount
transit(channel, τ_transport) -> arrival: // delivers in-transit cargo over τ
arrival = channel·(Δt/τ_transport); channel -= arrival; return arrival
SHARED parameters
dopamine NE ACh // organism broadcasts (external)
glucose geometry // physical (external)
elig dop_thr tag_thr tag_expiry // strength gates (universal)
traj_thr endur_thr // endurance gates (universal)
ship_cost // transport overhead (all shipments)
τ_transport_{dend,axon,spine,bouton} // shipment transit times (distance-dependent)
ε
NIGHT parameters (consolidation only)
slot_cost cap_cost f_cap // commit sizes / endurance fraction
maint_frac cap_frac // maintenance allocation
decay_rate capacity_decay_rate recycle // passive decay + recovery
homeostatic_ceiling coherence_factor assembly_cost biogenesis_cost maint_cost
f_dend f_axon f_spine f_bouton // material distribution fractions
{dend,axon,pre,post}_ship_frac // DAY shipment fractions
{dend,axon,pre,post}_energy_frac // energy distribution fractions
DAY
PRE
The presynaptic bouton releases neurotransmitter and gathers evidence about whether that release was worth strengthening and worth sustaining. Its behavior unfolds across two DAY contexts and the NIGHT scope.
During DAY, during AP — the bouton releases neurotransmitter. The amount released depends on
residual calcium from recent spikes (the fast trace, setting the drive), the current
VGCC coupling occupancy (how tightly calcium channels are coupled to docking slots right
now — filled short-term, bounded by structure), the two retrograde messages from the
postsynapse (retro_eCB brakes the drive; retro_NO will confirm release reached a responsive
target), and the availability of both fuel and vesicles. Two shortfalls are read
differently: a fuel shortfall on a succeeding release is evidence the bouton needs more
endurance; an empty pool with fuel to spare is ordinary short-term depression.
During DAY, during NOT_AP — the bouton consolidates, potentiates short-term, and recovers. With no spike to release, it latches the retrograde messages (RECEIVE); maintains its traces — accumulating eligibility toward a dopamine-gated tag (TRACE); transiently tightens its VGCC coupling from accumulated eligibility, with no dopamine, a reversible short-term potentiation bounded by the structural ceiling (BEHAVE); refills both its budget (contested supply) and its vesicle pool (private reserve) (RECOVER); and lets its traces decay, closing the windows (DECAY).
During NIGHT — the bouton's ceilings are rewritten. NIGHT raises the bouton's structure (active-zone capacity, including the VGCC-coupling ceiling) where a validated tag accumulated, and its budget capacity (mitochondrial endurance) where fuel repeatedly interrupted a succeeding release. Both draw on the same finite material and energy shipped down the axon, so the two kinds of growth compete — and whatever is not maintained drifts back down.
// PARAMETERS K_release · release_cost · fusion_cost · vatpase_cost · spillover · brake
// stp_thr · coupling_gain · coupling_drift · VGCC_baseline
// INTERFACE
// EMIT glutamate → POST, ASTRO
// RECEIVE retro_NO, retro_eCB ← POST (signals latched; resources refill in RECOVER)
// READ glutamate (own cleft, autobrake) ; dopamine (gates tag)
// OWN pre_structure{slot_ceiling, VGCC_coupling, refill_ceiling} ; pre_budget_ceiling
// VGCC_active (occupancy: current coupling, filled toward VGCC_coupling ceiling)
// SUPPLY astro_lactate[syn] ← ASTRO ; axon_ship_pre ← AXON ; pre_material ← AXON(NIGHT) ; pre_energy ← SOMA(NIGHT)
// EMERGENCY shockwave_lockdown ← ASTRO
DAY | AP:
// TRACE (Ca²⁺ bolus from THIS spike — also drives release; frequency is emergent)
pre_fast_trace += spike_Ca(pre_structure.VGCC_coupling)
// ADJUST (release drive from residual Ca²⁺ × current coupling occupancy, + DSE brake)
drive = sat(pre_fast_trace × VGCC_active, K_release) × (1 - retro_eCB_local)
// BEHAVE (release; two distinct failure modes)
if pre_budget < release_cost:
// FUEL shortfall → endurance evidence (retro_NO-confirmed local success)
suppress(NT_flux)
if pre_fast_trace > traj_thr:
pre_endurance_need += pre_fast_trace × (1 + retro_NO_local)
exit
if RRP == 0:
// OCCUPANCY shortfall → short-term depression (NOT endurance; fuel was fine)
suppress(NT_flux)
exit
NT_flux = RRP × drive; RRP -= NT_flux·Δt; pre_budget -= NT_flux·fusion_cost
// EMIT (glutamate into cleft)
glutamate += NT_flux·Δt
if glutamate > spillover: drive *= brake // own-cleft autobrake
DAY | NOT_AP:
// RECEIVE (latch backward messages — signals only)
retro_NO_local = retro_NO; retro_eCB_local = retro_eCB
// TRACE (strength: eligibility → tag via dopamine)
if pre_fast_trace > elig: pre_possible_tag += pre_fast_trace
if dopamine > dop_thr and pre_possible_tag > tag_thr:
pre_tag += dopamine × pre_possible_tag
// BEHAVE (short-term potentiation: eligibility tightens coupling, NO dopamine; drifts back)
if pre_possible_tag > stp_thr:
VGCC_active = min(VGCC_active + coupling_gain × pre_possible_tag, pre_structure.VGCC_coupling)
else:
VGCC_active = max(VGCC_active - coupling_drift·Δt, VGCC_baseline) // STD = consequence
// RECOVER (refill BOTH pools: contested budget + private RRP)
pre_budget += refill(pre from astro_lactate[syn] + transit(axon_ship_pre, τ_transport_bouton))
RRP += fill(RRP, pre_structure.slot_ceiling, pre_structure.refill_ceiling, vatpase_cost, pre_budget)
// DECAY
// FAST (ms–s)
pre_fast_trace *= decay(100ms)
// MEDIUM (s–min)
pre_possible_tag *= decay(s); pre_endurance_need *= decay(min)
// SLOW (hr)
pre_tag *= decay(hr)
// (signals) arrived channels fade
dopamine *= decay(ms); retro_NO *= decay(s); retro_eCB *= decay(s)
// (PERSISTENT: pre_structure, pre_budget_ceiling — no DAY decay; NIGHT only)
POST
The postsynaptic spine is the synapse's primary memory locus: it detects coincident input, runs the calcium dynamics that decide potentiation versus depression, and requires the most validation (three coincidences) before committing. Its behavior unfolds across two DAY contexts and the NIGHT scope.
During DAY, during NOT_bAP — the spine integrates input and decides plasticity. Three calcium sources feed its fast trace: AMPA current (small Ca, begins ejecting the NMDA Mg block), NMDA (large Ca, but only on the local coincidence of depolarization + astrocyte D-serine + glutamate), and — in the bAP context — the back-propagating spike. High calcium drives AMPA receptors to the surface (short-term potentiation, occupancy filled toward the slot ceiling, no dopamine); when calcium falls, they drift back (short-term depression as a consequence). The spine also emits two retrograde messages from its own state — NO when it responded, an endocannabinoid brake when over-driven — and accumulates a dopamine-gated tag toward consolidation. A fuel shortfall while calcium was climbing toward a tag is endurance evidence; a surface already at its ceiling is a structural limit, not endurance.
During DAY, during bAP — the back-propagating spike confirms coincidence. The somatic spike arrives at the spine, adds depolarization and calcium, and supralinearly amplifies an existing candidate — the soma's confirmation that it fired, one of the three coincidences the spine requires.
During NIGHT — the spine's ceilings are rewritten. NIGHT raises structure (the AMPA slot ceiling, spine volume) where a validated tag accumulated — with a coherence bonus when pre, post, and astro all tagged the same synapse — and budget capacity where fuel interrupted a climbing calcium trajectory. Both draw the same finite pool, so they compete; unmaintained ceilings drift down.
// PARAMETERS K_AMPA · AMPA_Ca · AMPA_cost · NMDA_cost · bAP_cost · pka_cost · traffic_cost
// req_cost · Mg_eject · Dserine_thr · Ca_STP · Ca_TAG · eCB_thr · drift · baseline
// NO_synth_cost · eCB_synth_cost
// INTERFACE
// EMIT retro_NO (+), retro_eCB (−) → PRE
// RECEIVE (signals) glutamate ← PRE ; astro_Dserine ← ASTRO ; bAP ← DEND/SOMA ; dopamine
// READ glutamate ; astro_Dserine ; bAP (dend_structure.bAP_fidelity) ; dopamine
// OWN post_structure{slot_ceiling, spine_volume, reserve_ceiling} ; post_budget_ceiling
// SUPPLY astro_lactate[syn] ← ASTRO ; dend_ship_post ← DEND ; post_material ← DEND(NIGHT) ; post_energy ← SOMA(NIGHT)
// EMERGENCY shockwave_lockdown ← ASTRO
// NOTE POST endurance is own-state only (own Ca climbing); no arrived feedback term.
DAY | NOT_bAP:
// ADJUST (AMPA drive from arrived glutamate)
a = sat(glutamate, K_AMPA)
// BEHAVE (SOURCE 1 AMPA: current + small Ca + begins Mg ejection)
AMPA_current = a × AMPA_surface; Vm += AMPA_current; post_budget -= AMPA_cost
// TRACE (Ca deposited by AMPA)
post_fast_trace += AMPA_Ca·AMPA_current
// BEHAVE (SOURCE 2 NMDA: large Ca on local coincidence)
if Vm > Mg_eject and astro_Dserine > Dserine_thr and glutamate > 0:
post_fast_trace += NMDA_Ca(glutamate)·rise_speed(); post_budget -= NMDA_cost
// EMIT (+ NO/BDNF: "release reached a responsive target")
retro_NO += NO_emit(post_fast_trace); post_budget -= NO_synth_cost
// EMIT (− endocannabinoid / DSE when over-driven)
if Vm > eCB_thr:
retro_eCB += eCB_emit(Vm); post_budget -= eCB_synth_cost
post_fast_trace *= decay(ms)
// BEHAVE (STP fill slots from private reserve ; else STD drift = consequence)
if post_fast_trace > Ca_STP:
if post_budget < traffic_cost:
// FUEL shortfall → endurance (own Ca was climbing toward a tag)
if post_fast_trace > traj_thr and post_fast_trace_rising:
post_endurance_need += post_fast_trace
else if AMPA_surface < post_structure.slot_ceiling:
AMPA_surface += Ca_insert(post_fast_trace); post_budget -= traffic_cost
// else: surface already at slot_ceiling → structure-limited (not endurance)
else:
AMPA_surface = max(AMPA_surface - drift·Δt, baseline) // STD = consequence
// TRACE (strength: CANDIDATE then STABLE via dopamine)
if post_fast_trace > Ca_TAG: post_possible_tag += post_fast_trace; post_budget -= pka_cost
if dopamine > dop_thr and post_possible_tag > tag_thr:
post_tag += dopamine × post_possible_tag
// RECOVER (refill budget from contested supply)
post_budget += refill(post from astro_lactate[syn] + transit(dend_ship_post, τ_transport_spine))
// DECAY
// FAST (ms–s) — post_fast_trace already decayed above (intra-step, pre-tagging)
// MEDIUM (s–min)
post_possible_tag *= decay(min); post_endurance_need *= decay(min)
// SLOW (hr)
post_tag *= decay(hr)
// (signals)
dopamine *= decay(ms)
// (PERSISTENT: post_structure, post_budget_ceiling — no DAY decay; NIGHT only)
DAY | bAP:
// BEHAVE (SOURCE 3 bAP: depolarization + Ca, amplifies existing signal)
Vm += bAP_depol × dend_structure.bAP_fidelity; post_budget -= bAP_cost
// TRACE (supralinear boost only if a CANDIDATE is present)
if post_possible_tag > Ca_TAG: post_fast_trace += bAP_Ca_boost()
DEND
The dendritic branch is the postsynapse's supply line and the neuron's input integrator. It carries the back-propagating spike out to its spines, integrates their voltages toward the soma, and ships material and budget to the spines it supports. Its behavior unfolds across two DAY contexts and the NIGHT scope.
During DAY, during bAP — the branch propagates and integrates. When the soma fires, the branch propagates the back-propagating spike toward its spines, with a fidelity that attenuates with distance (distal spines get weaker confirmation, are harder to potentiate). It deposits branch calcium and integrates its spines' voltages into a single branch signal sent on to the soma. A fuel shortfall that cuts propagation short while the branch was strongly active is endurance evidence; propagation that simply attenuates with distance is a structural limit, not endurance.
During DAY, during NOT_bAP — the branch consolidates, supplies, and recovers. It maintains its tag toward consolidation, lowers its commit threshold under acetylcholine (attention), ships budget down to its spines (demand-weighted by their tags), runs local translation if tagged, refills its own budget from astrocytic lactate and somatic shipment, and lets its traces decay.
During NIGHT — the branch's ceilings are rewritten. NIGHT raises structure (bAP fidelity, translation capacity) where a validated tag accumulated and budget capacity where fuel interrupted strong branch activity, both from the shared pool, both competing; unmaintained ceilings drift down.
// PARAMETERS prop_cost · branch_Ca_cost · integrate_cost · translate_cost · ACh_gain
// INTERFACE
// EMIT bAP_local → POST ; branch_Vm → SOMA ; dend_ship_post → POST
// RECEIVE (signals) SOMA.fired ; POST.Vm + spine spillover ; dopamine ; ACh
// READ SOMA.fired ; POST.Vm + spine spillover ; dopamine ; ACh
// OWN dend_structure{bAP_fidelity(pos), translation_ceiling, transport_speed} ; dend_budget_ceiling
// SUPPLY astro_lactate[branch] ← ASTRO ; soma_ship_dend ← SOMA ; dend_material, dend_energy ← SOMA(NIGHT)
// NOTE DEND endurance fires only on FUEL-limited propagation, not structural attenuation;
// own-state proxy (strong branch activity); no arrived feedback term.
DAY | bAP:
// ADJUST (propagation strength from structure — inside propagate())
// BEHAVE (propagate bAP; distinguish fuel-limited vs structure-limited shortfall)
if dend_budget < prop_cost:
// FUEL shortfall → endurance (branch was strongly active)
if dend_fast_trace > traj_thr:
dend_endurance_need += dend_fast_trace
bAP_local, reached = propagate_partial(dend_budget)
else:
bAP_local, reached = propagate(SOMA.fired, dend_structure.bAP_fidelity, geometry)
// reached < full here is structural attenuation (distance), NOT endurance
dend_budget -= prop_cost × reached
// TRACE
dend_fast_trace += bAP_Ca(bAP_local) + spine_spillover(); dend_budget -= branch_Ca_cost
// EMIT (integrated voltage to soma ; propagated bAP already reached spines)
branch_Vm = integrate(POST.Vm, spines); dend_budget -= integrate_cost
DAY | NOT_bAP:
// TRACE (strength)
if dend_fast_trace > elig: dend_possible_tag += dend_fast_trace
if dopamine > dop_thr and dend_possible_tag > tag_thr:
dend_tag += dopamine × dend_possible_tag
// ADJUST (commit threshold lowered by attention)
commit_threshold *= 1/(1 + ACh·ACh_gain)
// BEHAVE (local translation if tagged — fills dend capacity faster)
if dend_tag > tag_expiry and dend_budget > translate_cost: dend_budget -= translate_cost
// EMIT (ship budget to spines; demand = post tag)
dend_ship_post = ship(dend_budget, post_demand, post_ship_frac, ship_cost)
// RECOVER (refill budget from contested supply)
dend_budget += refill(dend from astro_lactate[branch] + transit(soma_ship_dend, τ_transport_dend))
// DECAY
// FAST (ms–s)
dend_fast_trace *= decay(300ms)
// MEDIUM (s–min)
dend_possible_tag *= decay(s); dend_endurance_need *= decay(min)
// SLOW (hr)
dend_tag *= decay(hr)
// (PERSISTENT: dend_structure, dend_budget_ceiling — no DAY decay; NIGHT only)
SOMA
The soma is the neuron's integrating center and the root of its structural material. It sums the branch inputs, fires when they exceed a threshold it sets from its own adaptation and the neuromodulators, and ships material and budget out to the dendrites and axon. Its timing — refractoriness, adaptation, rhythm alignment — emerges bottom-up from local traces, never from a represented clock. Its behavior unfolds across two DAY contexts and the NIGHT scope.
During DAY, during AP — the soma integrates and fires. It computes its firing threshold from its baseline (structure), its accumulated adaptation, and the neuromodulators, and checks its refractory state; if the integrated branch input clears the threshold and fuel allows, it fires. One spike deposits three traces at three timescales — sodium inactivation (refractory), slow-potassium adaptation (threshold rise), and nuclear calcium (toward CREB and the tag). A fuel shortfall while nuclear calcium was climbing is endurance evidence; being refractory or sub-threshold is a timing limit, not endurance.
During DAY, during NOT_AP — the soma recovers, aligns, and supplies. It self-replenishes from its own mitochondria (its private root), integrates the latest branch inputs, deposits a refractory-alignment trace when suprathreshold input arrived during its refractory period (so it aligns to its input rhythm bottom-up), ships budget to dendrites and axon (demand-weighted by their tags), recovers from refractoriness at a rate its alignment trace speeds up, and lets its traces decay.
During NIGHT — the soma's ceilings are rewritten, and it gates the whole neuron's material. NIGHT raises structure (excitability, synthesis capacity) and budget capacity from the shared pool; crucially the soma's own tag gates CREB-driven synthesis, so how much material all downstream components receive depends on the soma having been tagged.
// PARAMETERS ap_cost · nuclear_cost · creb_cost · mito_output · inactivation · ap_amp · ap_contrib
// base_recovery · τ_Na · τ_adapt · τ_nuclear · τ_align
// INTERFACE
// EMIT fired → AXON (propagate) + DEND (bAP) ; soma_ship_dend → DEND ; soma_ship_axon → AXON
// RECEIVE (signals) branch_Vm ← DEND ; dopamine ; NE ; ACh
// READ dopamine ; NE ; ACh
// OWN soma_structure{baseline_threshold, AP_reliability, synthesis_ceiling} ; soma_budget_ceiling
// SUPPLY self (mitochondria, ROOT — private)
// NOTE SOMA endurance fires only on FUEL shortfall (budget < ap_cost);
// refractory / sub-threshold are timing limits, not endurance. Own-state proxy.
DAY | AP:
// ADJUST (threshold from structure + adaptation + neuromodulators ; refractory gate)
threshold = soma_structure.baseline_threshold × (1 + soma_adaptation) × neuromod(NE, ACh)
can_fire = soma_Na_inactivation < inactivation
// BEHAVE (fire if able)
if branch_Vm > threshold and can_fire:
if soma_budget < ap_cost:
// FUEL shortfall → endurance (firing was approaching CREB)
if soma_fast_trace > traj_thr and soma_fast_trace_rising:
soma_endurance_need += soma_fast_trace
exit
// EMIT (fired → AXON, DEND)
fired = True; soma_budget -= ap_cost
// TRACE (three traces from one AP — FAST nuclear-Ca, MEDIUM adaptation, refractory)
soma_Na_inactivation += ap_amp // → refractory (emergent)
soma_adaptation += ap_contrib // → threshold rise
soma_fast_trace += nuclear_Ca(); soma_budget -= nuclear_cost
// TRACE (strength)
if soma_fast_trace > elig: soma_possible_tag += soma_fast_trace
if dopamine > dop_thr and soma_possible_tag > tag_thr:
soma_tag += dopamine × soma_possible_tag
soma_budget -= creb_cost
DAY | NOT_AP:
// RECEIVE (integrate latest branch input — signal)
branch_Vm = integrate(DEND.branch_Vm, branches)
// TRACE (bottom-up refractory alignment: suprathreshold input during refractory)
if branch_Vm > threshold and soma_Na_inactivation > inactivation:
soma_refractory_alignment += (branch_Vm - threshold) × soma_Na_inactivation
// EMIT (ship downstream into transit; demand = propagated tags)
soma_ship_dend = ship(soma_budget, dend_demand, dend_ship_frac, ship_cost)
soma_ship_axon = ship(soma_budget, axon_demand, axon_ship_frac, ship_cost)
// RECOVER (self-replenish from private root ; inactivation recovery sped by alignment)
soma_budget += fill(soma_budget, soma_budget_ceiling, mito_output, 0, soma_budget)
recovery = base_recovery × (1 + soma_refractory_alignment)
soma_Na_inactivation *= decay(τ_Na / recovery)
// DECAY
// FAST (ms–s) — refractory + nuclear-Ca + alignment (sub-second to seconds)
soma_fast_trace *= decay(τ_nuclear); soma_refractory_alignment *= decay(τ_align) // self-limiting
// MEDIUM (s–min) — adaptation + tagging evidence
soma_adaptation *= decay(τ_adapt)
soma_possible_tag *= decay(s); soma_endurance_need *= decay(min)
// SLOW (hr)
soma_tag *= decay(hr)
// (signals)
dopamine *= decay(ms)
// (PERSISTENT: soma_structure, soma_budget_ceiling — no DAY decay; NIGHT only)
AXON
The axon carries the soma's spike out to its boutons and is the presynapse's supply line. It propagates reliably or not depending on its myelination and its recent load, and ships material and budget to the boutons. Its behavior unfolds across two DAY contexts and the NIGHT scope.
During DAY, during AP — the axon propagates the spike. Reliability is set by structure (myelination) and degraded by recent high-frequency load (sodium inactivation at branch points — axonal short-term depression). A fuel shortfall while carrying a strong train is endurance evidence; load-driven failure is short-term depression, a consequence, not endurance.
During DAY, during NOT_AP — the axon supplies and recovers. It maintains its tag, ships budget to its boutons (demand-weighted by their tags), refills its own budget from somatic shipment and astrocytic lactate, and lets its traces decay.
During NIGHT — the axon's ceilings are rewritten. NIGHT raises structure (myelination, transport capacity) and budget capacity from the shared pool, both competing; unmaintained ceilings drift down.
// PARAMETERS prop_cost · budget_factor
// INTERFACE
// EMIT APs_delivered → PRE (propagation) ; axon_ship_pre → PRE
// RECEIVE (signals) SOMA.fired ; dopamine
// READ SOMA.fired ; dopamine
// OWN axon_structure{propagation, transport_ceiling, mito_density} ; axon_budget_ceiling
// SUPPLY soma_ship_axon ← SOMA ; astro_lactate[shaft] ← ASTRO ; axon_material, axon_energy ← SOMA(NIGHT)
// NOTE AXON endurance fires only on FUEL shortfall; load-driven failure fail(fast_trace)
// is axonal STD (a consequence), not endurance. Own-state proxy.
DAY | AP:
// ADJUST (reliability from structure − load-driven failure)
reliability = axon_structure.propagation × (1 - fail(axon_fast_trace)) // fail() = STD, not endurance
// BEHAVE (propagate; FUEL shortfall degrades + flags endurance)
if axon_budget < prop_cost:
reliability *= budget_factor
if axon_fast_trace > traj_thr: // FUEL-limited → endurance
axon_endurance_need += axon_fast_trace
delivered = fired × reliability; axon_budget -= prop_cost × delivered
// EMIT (delivered APs reach boutons)
// TRACE
axon_fast_trace += delivered; axon_fast_trace *= decay(s)
DAY | NOT_AP:
// TRACE (strength)
if axon_fast_trace > elig: axon_possible_tag += axon_fast_trace
if dopamine > dop_thr and axon_possible_tag > tag_thr:
axon_tag += dopamine × axon_possible_tag
// EMIT (ship to boutons; demand = pre tag)
axon_ship_pre = ship(axon_budget, pre_demand, pre_ship_frac, ship_cost)
// RECOVER (refill budget from contested supply)
axon_budget += refill(axon from soma_ship_axon + astro_lactate[shaft])
// DECAY
// FAST (ms–s)
axon_fast_trace *= decay(s)
// MEDIUM (s–min)
axon_possible_tag *= decay(s); axon_endurance_need *= decay(min)
// SLOW (hr)
axon_tag *= decay(hr)
// (PERSISTENT: axon_structure, axon_budget_ceiling — no DAY decay; NIGHT only)
ASTRO
The astrosynapse is the synapse's gatekeeper and energy hub. It clears glutamate, supplies the D-serine that gates postsynaptic NMDA, and distributes lactate across its territory by demand. Unlike the others it runs in a single continuous context rather than spiking, and its structure reshapes the synapse's operating point rather than just its range.
During DAY, continuously — the astrosynapse clears, gates, and fuels. It produces energy at its cell body (glycolysis from glucose, the system's energy root), then allocates lactate across its astrosynapses weighted by each one's clearance demand. At each astrosynapse it clears spillover glutamate (EAAT) and supplies tonic D-serine; when spillover is high it adds a demand-driven D-serine pulse, brakes nothing of the presynapse directly (the presynaptic brake is PRE reading its own cleft), deposits its calcium trace, and accumulates a dopamine-gated tag. A D-serine pulse cut short by low budget while demand was high is endurance evidence; one cut short by precursor/material exhaustion is a material limit, not endurance. Excess overflow triggers the protective shockwave lockdown.
During NIGHT — the astrosynapse's ceilings are rewritten. NIGHT raises structure (perisynaptic wrap, EAAT density, tonic D-serine) where a validated tag accumulated and budget capacity where budget-limited synthesis recurred; astro_structure is self-reinforcing in both directions, so it amplifies whatever trajectory the synapse is already on.
// PARAMETERS K_Dserine · Ds_max · Ds_frac · Ds_cost · EAAT_cost · lactate_cost · spillover · overload
// INTERFACE
// EMIT astro_lactate[i] → pre/post/dend budgets ; astro_Dserine[i] → POST (gate)
// RECEIVE (signals) glutamate ← PRE (clearance + spillover) ; dopamine
// READ glutamate ; dopamine
// OWN astro_structure{perisynaptic_distance⁻¹, EAAT, Dserine_tonic, ECM} ; astro_budget_ceiling
// SUPPLY glucose (ROOT) ; astro_material, astro_energy ← cell body (NIGHT)
// NOTE ASTRO endurance fires on BUDGET-limited synthesis (got<want via low budget);
// material/precursor-limited synthesis is a material limit, not endurance. Own-state proxy.
// EMERGENCY emits shockwave_lockdown on overload
DAY | CONTINUOUS: // per astrosynapse i
// RECEIVE (root production, capped by glucose)
astro_central_budget += glycolysis(glucose)·Δt
// ADJUST (demand weights across territory)
for each i: demand[i] = clearance_load[i] × astro_structure[i].delivery_eff
factor = min(1, astro_central_budget / (Σ demand·lactate_cost + ε))
// EMIT (demand-weighted lactate to all components)
for each i:
astro_lactate[i] = demand[i] × factor; astro_central_budget -= astro_lactate[i]·lactate_cost
// BEHAVE (clear glutamate ; supply tonic D-serine)
glutamate[i] -= astro_structure[i].EAAT × glutamate[i]·Δt; astro_central_budget -= clearance·EAAT_cost
astro_Dserine[i] += astro_structure[i].Dserine_tonic·Δt
if glutamate[i] > spillover:
// TRACE
astro_fast_trace[i] += mGluR_Ca(); astro_fast_trace[i] *= decay(s)
// ADJUST (D-serine demand from spillover)
want = sat(astro_fast_trace[i], K_Dserine) × Ds_max
got = min(want, astro_central_budget × Ds_frac)
// BEHAVE + EMIT (D-serine pulse to POST gate)
astro_Dserine[i] += got; astro_central_budget -= got·Ds_cost
// TRACE (endurance: BUDGET-limited synthesis under high own demand)
if got < want and astro_central_budget low and astro_fast_trace[i] > traj_thr:
astro_endurance_need[i] += (want - got)
// TRACE (strength)
if astro_fast_trace[i] > elig: astro_possible_tag[i] += astro_fast_trace[i]
if dopamine > dop_thr and astro_possible_tag[i] > tag_thr:
astro_tag[i] += dopamine × astro_possible_tag[i]
// DECAY
// FAST (ms–s) — astro_fast_trace already decayed above (intra-step)
// MEDIUM (s–min)
astro_possible_tag[i] *= decay(s); astro_endurance_need[i] *= decay(min)
// SLOW (hr)
astro_tag[i] *= decay(hr)
// (PERSISTENT: astro_structure, astro_budget_ceiling — no DAY decay; NIGHT only)
// EMERGENCY
if astro_fast_trace[i] > overload: emit(shockwave_lockdown)
Special — Shockwave Lockdown
DAY or NIGHT | OVERLOAD:
Vm = HYPERPOLARIZED; AMPA_surface = mass_internalize() → post reserve
axon_fast_trace += overdrive(); astro_central_budget -= emergency_cost
NIGHT
Same grammar on ceilings, once per cycle.
NIGHT | 1 RECEIVE + ADJUST + EMIT (replenish, weight, distribute)
// RECEIVE overnight production at roots (capped by glucose; gated by soma_tag)
astro_central_{budget,energy,material} += overnight_*(glucose, …)·Δt
soma_{budget,energy} += overnight_*()·Δt ; soma_material += CREB_synth(soma_tag)·Δt
// ADJUST tag-weighted shares
for each i with astro_tag[i] > tag_expiry: w = astro_tag[i]/Σastro_tag
// EMIT distribute material + energy down the supply chains
astro_energy[i] += astro_central_energy·w; astro_material[i] += astro_central_material·w
dend_material += soma_material·f_dend ; axon_material += soma_material·f_axon ; soma_material -= …
post_material += dend_material·f_spine ; pre_material += axon_material·f_bouton
{pre,post,dend,axon}_energy += soma_energy·{·}_energy_frac
{pre,post,dend,axon}_budget += astro_lactate_reserve·{·}_frac·Δt
NIGHT | 2 TRACE + BEHAVE (strength commits → raise structure)
// ADJUST coherence bonus when pre, post, astro tags align
coherence = (pre_tag, post_tag, astro_tag all > tag_expiry) ? coherence_factor : 1
// TRACE+BEHAVE build structure for tagged components
for each c with c_tag > tag_expiry:
Δ = min(slot_cost, c_material, c_energy·f_cap)
c_structure += Δ × (coherence if c in {pre,post,astro} else 1)
c_material -= Δ; c_energy -= Δ·assembly_cost; if Δ < slot_cost: queue(→ next NIGHT)
NIGHT | 2b TRACE + BEHAVE (endurance commits → raise budget_ceiling ; no dopamine ; competes w/ 2)
for each c with c_endurance_need > endur_thr:
Δ = min(cap_cost, c_material·f_cap, c_energy·f_cap)
c_budget_ceiling += Δ; c_material -= Δ; c_energy -= Δ·biogenesis_cost; if Δ<cap_cost: queue
NIGHT | 3 DECAY + RECOVER (both ceilings decay by neglect ; material recovered)
maint = (total_material - consumed) × maint_frac / synapse_count
for each synapse: // DECAY
{pre,post,dend,astro}_structure -= decay_rate·Δt
{pre,post,dend,astro}_budget_ceiling -= capacity_decay_rate·Δt
if maint ≥ maint_cost: structure += full_maint ; budget_ceiling += full_cap_maint
else: structure += maint·frac ; budget_ceiling += maint·cap_frac
for each synapse with net_change < 0: // RECOVER
{pre,post,astro}_material += |net_change|·recycle·frac // material recovered, energy not
NIGHT | 4 BEHAVE (homeostatic scaling)
if soma_tag > homeostatic_ceiling:
s = homeostatic_ceiling / soma_tag
for each synapse: post_structure.slot_ceiling *= s ; pre_structure.slot_ceiling *= s
soma_material += Σ reduction·recycle
NIGHT | 5 DECAY (clear traces)
all fast_trace, possible_tag, endurance_need = 0
soma_Na_inactivation = soma_adaptation = soma_refractory_alignment = 0
for each tag: if tag < tag_expiry: tag = 0 // else carry forward
// structure and budget_ceiling PERSIST
One-view summary
SEVEN-GROUP GRAMMAR, TWO TIMESCALES
RECEIVE · TRACE · ADJUST · BEHAVE · EMIT · RECOVER · DECAY
DAY grammar on OCCUPANCY within two ceilings (structure=strength, budget_ceiling=endurance)
TRACE yields two evidence streams from local state + arrived signals:
fast_trace + dopamine → tag (strength)
FUEL shortfall + interrupted LOCAL success → endurance_need (endurance)
OCCUPANCY/structure/timing shortfalls → short-term depression (NOT endurance)
NIGHT same grammar on the CEILINGS:
tag → structure ; endurance_need → budget_ceiling ; both draw one pool (compete)
unmaintained ceilings decay → recovered material funds the rest
FLOWS every flow has a timescale: decay relaxes toward 0 over τ, arrival toward a target
over τ; shipment is transit-delayed; rate-limited inflows carry τ implicitly.
LOCAL every group uses only own state + arrived signals; RECEIVE/EMIT are the only crossings.