Polyvagal Theory
A neurophysiological framework developed by Stephen Porges describing the autonomic nervous system as a three-tiered hierarchy: ventral vagal (social engagement, safety), sympathetic (fight/flight, mobilization), and dorsal vagal (freeze/shutdown, immobilization). The theory proposes that the nervous system continuously evaluates safety through a process called 'neuroception,' and that social connection is the primary regulator of physiological state.
Core Propositions
Uncited. These state what the framework asserts. They are not findings Psychedex has verified, and no reference is attached to any of them.
Effects
Deep ventral vagal state with co-regulation — the nervous system in maximal social engagement, extending felt connection beyond immediate relationships to all beings.
Sympathetic activation — the nervous system has detected threat (via neuroception) and mobilized for fight/flight without the social engagement system online.
Dorsal vagal activation — immobilization response when fight/flight is insufficient. The system shuts down to conserve resources, producing disconnection from body and self.
Ventral vagal activation — social engagement system fully online. Safety cues permit openness to others' emotional states.
Substances
Activates ventral vagal circuit — social engagement without threat. Explains the therapeutic window: MDMA creates the neuroceptive safety needed for trauma processing.
Dissociative effects map to dorsal vagal — pharmacological immobilization response. K-hole experiences parallel the freeze/shutdown state.
GABAergic dampening of sympathetic arousal — suppresses fight/flight without activating the social engagement system. Relief without connection.
Framework record
An interpretive framework: a lens for reading experience, not a measured record. Its claims are the framework’s own. No references are attached to this entry on Psychedex, and nothing on this page has been verified against a source here.
- references
- none on file
- epistemic status
- Contested
- revision
- 1
- published
- not recorded
- content origin
- LLM generated
- psx id
- FRM-polyvagal
Origin
Proposed by Stephen Porges in 1994, based on his research into the vagus nerve and heart rate variability. The theory extended understanding of the autonomic nervous system beyond the sympathetic/parasympathetic binary.
Key Figures
Key Texts
The framework’s own foundational literature, not sources cited for this entry.