Project summary

Goal: Determine whether combined chemogenetic

suppression of three neural circuits — posterior

parietal cortex (agency detection), nucleus

accumbens (aberrant salience), and anterior

cingulate cortex (critical filter) — maintains

summed input below the LTP consolidation

threshold, producing functional zero output

of non-empirical belief formation.

Central hypothesis: 85-90% suppression of

afferent module input is functionally equivalent

to complete elimination of the phenomenon,

because LTP induction requires a minimum

Ca2+ threshold that cannot be reached when

inputs are chronically sub-threshold.

This is directly falsifiable within 6 months.

Preprint: doi: 10.5281/zenodo.20236971

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

Non-empirical belief formation is generated

by three neural circuits with established

causal evidence:

1. Posterior parietal cortex (PPC) — agency

attribution to ambiguous stimuli (Young et al.,

2010, PNAS)

2. Nucleus accumbens core — dopaminergic

aberrant salience driving false pattern

consolidation (Corlett et al., 2009, Brain)

3. Anterior cingulate cortex — conflict

detection gate for belief revision

(Inzlicht et al., 2009, Psych Science)

The Synaptic Consolidation Threshold

Hypothesis (SCTH) states that proportional

suppression of these inputs below the LTP

induction threshold produces zero belief

consolidation output — analogous to

maintaining a chain reaction below critical

mass.

Protocol: bilateral AAV-DREADD injection

into 5 targets, CNO dose-escalation,

3 validated behavioral paradigms,

7-task cognitive safety battery.

Two preprints published:

doi: 10.5281/zenodo.20236971

How will this funding be used?

Total: $15,000

→ CRO contract (stereotaxic surgery,

animal housing 6 months, behavioral

testing, histology): $12,000

→ AAV viral vectors (Addgene,

5 constructs): $2,000

→ CNO and reagents: $500

→ Statistical analysis: $500

CRO: Porsolt (France) or equivalent.

All data published open-access on OSF

within 3 months of collection.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

Friedrich Lucius Powerford

Independent researcher, Moscow.

Track record:

→ Published 2 preprints specifying

complete chemogenetic protocol for

NERC suppression (Zenodo, 2025)

→ Applied to Emergent Ventures

→ Cold emails sent to Saxe (MIT),

Corlett (Yale), Floresco (UBC)

No institutional affiliation —

working independently to pursue

a question institutional review

cycles would delay by years.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

1. Insufficient AAV expression at target

sites → protocol adjustment, higher

titer vectors (detected by histology)

2. CNO dose insufficient for behavioral

effect → dose escalation within

pre-specified range

3. SCTH falsified — dose-response is

linear, not sigmoidal → published

as negative result, informs revised

model

All failure modes produce publishable

data. There is no uninformative outcome.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

$0. This is the first funding application

for this project.