WITHDRAWN

Autism and related neurodivergent conditions are commonly framed as brain-based disorders, defined by behavioral symptoms, cognitive traits, or genetic anomalies.The Nervous System Adaptation Model (NSAM) challenges this framing by identifying autonomic-cortical mismatch as the primary site of dysfunction.In this model, early autonomic disruption leads to persistent dysregulation between body and brain, with autism representing one manifestation of this broader physiological adaptation process.The cortex compensates for functionally asynchronous signaling between the hypothalamus and cortical systems by forming behavioral strategies that, over time, are reinforced into preference, personality, and identity.Rather than viewing behaviors like stimming, masking, or attraction patterns as symptoms, NSAM reframes them as regulatory solutions: attempts by the system to self-stabilize under nervous system mismatch.Identity emerges not as a static trait, but as the downstream outcome of reinforced autonomic regulation patterns.This framework extends beyond developmental neurodivergence to acquired conditions such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), where similar autonomic-cortical coordination failures generate comparable behavioral and emotional adaptations.Research on the right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG) suggests that this junction of parietal, temporal and frontal lobes enables decoupling of one's own feelings from those of others; when rSMG engagement is weak or decisions are rushed, empathy declines and individuals project their state onto others (Silani et al., 2013;Steinbeis, 2016).We propose that rSMG dysfunction amplifies autonomic-cortical mismatch by distorting social feedback.The maternal off-ramping hypothesis emphasises that early parent-infant coregulation depends on mutual adaptation across biological and behavioural levels (Feldman, 2007;Tronick, 1989).Signal chain correction strategies include interventions such as sensory integration, vagal stimulation, heart-rate variability (HRV) biofeedback and cognitive reappraisal that target specific links-from somatic inputs to cortical interpretation-to restore coherence.By shifting focus from behavioral traits to underlying regulation patterns, NSAM offers a physiological lens for understanding neurodivergent presentations-one that centers coherence over symptom conformity.The implications span DSM classification, clinical intervention, and societal conceptualization of neurodivergence itself.