Structural-Constructivist Foundations of the Core Emotion Framework: A Multi-Scale Synthesis of Neurobiological, Somatic, and Cognitive Evidence

The Core Emotion Framework (CEF) proposes a structural constructivist architecture of human emotion built on three biologically grounded hubs—the Head, Heart, and Gut—each composed of distinct functional operators that together form a “Human Operating System.” The framework synthesizes evidence from affective neuroscience, polyvagal theory, somatic psychotherapy, and cognitive construction models to show that emotions are dynamic transformations rather than fixed categories. The cephalic, cardiac, and enteric nervous systems provide the anatomical substrate for these hubs, each capable of sensing, learning, and influencing perception independently. As the manuscript states, the CEF “models the human internal landscape as a functional operating system composed of ten discrete operators” and treats the three hubs as “distinct functional processors that must be aligned and integrated to achieve psychological flourishing.” Emotional Cycling protocols operationalize this architecture through bilateral integration, midline crossing, and somatic grounding to restore operator independence and prevent fusion. By aligning with predictive processing and interoceptive models of emotion, the CEF offers a unified framework for psychotherapy, somatic practice, and computational modeling, reframing emotional processes as modular, trainable transformations. KEYWORDS: Core Emotion Framework (CEF); structural constructivist model; emotional operators; tripartite neurobiological hubs; interoception and allostasis; polyvagal regulation; somatic grounding; bilateral integration; operator independence; emotional cycling; synthetic affect; Human Operating System.