The Myth of Automatic Detection
There’s this concept in the polyvagal theory called neuroception. And the claim of polyvagal is that with this process of “neuroception,” your brain goes about automatically “detecting” safety or threat, and “triggers” responses like a racing heart or shortness of breath that makes you know that what’s “out there” is a threat.
And, unfortunately, what this idea also suggests is that regions of the brain understood as “subcortical,” like the amygdala and others, are capable of performing this magic without instructions from what are known as cortical regions of the brain.
So, in this case, like most everything about the polyvagal theory, cognitive science disagrees and exposes this oversimplification as a fundamental flaw that misaligns with our current understanding of how the brain operates.
In fact, the (arguably) most famous neuroscientist in the world disagrees with the idea that something like “neuroception” can be happening without cortical involvement to ignite the subcortex, and you can hear him say so HERE.
Your Brain’s Predictive Power
The thing is, according to predictive processing, your brain doesn’t react—it predicts. It generates physiological responses, like a racing heart or shortness of breath, based on predictions about how to act in the next moment that are drawn from past experiences, context, and expectations.
For instance, your racing heart might stem from an initial prediction of over-caffeination, even if you’re unaware of drinking too much coffee. Under the hood, your brain predictively evaluates this sensation, using cortical categorization to assign meaning—say, “fear” or “safety”—based on environmental cues, like a noisy room or a calm setting.
Then, in the next moment, it refines its predictions, deciding whether to escalate stress or calm you down. This “top-down”—as it’s called— process shows that bodily “reactions” and responses are shaped by cortical predictions, not autonomous “detectors” in the lower portions of the brain—those “subcortical” regions.
Why Neuroception Falls Short
By framing the brain as a reactive machine, “neuroception”—and its polyvagal roots—misses this predictive dynamic. And by doing so, oversimplifies and distorts therapeutic approaches leaving you believing that emotions are automatic reflexes you are subject to, rather than malleable predictions you can improve and expand through new learning.
Mercifully, by learning about and understanding your brain’s anticipatory nature, the door opens for you to easily practice reshaping how you interpret and respond to experiences, ultimately improving your emotional life.
Rewiring Through Therapy
Your brain is wired to optimize—and it will optimize just as easily to bad information as it will to good, so buyer beware. Don’t let your therapist teach your cognitive system to optimize to a story that your system is always “searching for danger.” Because that will make you a perpetual victim.
By leveraging the brain’s predictive power, you’ll be able to reframe experiences and build resilience.
Therapy rooted in current cognitive science will empower you to make better sense of your life—turning the signal of a racing heart into information rather than some mysterious “danger.”
