Adaptive Regulation Model (ARM): A Neurobehavioral Framework for State-Dependent Behavioral Accessibility (HLTC Protocol)

The Adaptive Regulation Model (ARM) proposes that behavioral output is constrained not only by intention or executive choice, but by moment-to-moment regulatory access under changing internal and external conditions. The model centers on a narrowing or widening window of behavioral accessibility that precedes overt action, in which competing action pathways are shaped by physiological load, temporal constraint, contextual demand, and available stabilization. As regulatory load increases, this window may narrow, biasing behavior toward rapid, previously reinforced, or less reflective patterns while reducing timely access to goal-aligned alternatives. Within this framework, changes in latency, persistence, accountability, error-correction, and dissociative drift are treated as observable indicators of threshold-like shifts in behavioral accessibility under pressure. Version 5 presents an expanded and more structured working paper that now includes both an ARM Companion Protocol Overview and a developer-facing operational specification. Together, these additions show how the conceptual framework is translated into a structured observational model with defined task phases, breakpoint logic, rule-access assessment, post-breakpoint probe conditions, same-threshold retest procedures, and multi-stream interpretation. The associated High-Load Temporal Constraint (HLTC) protocol is presented as a pre-validation, measurement-oriented framework for observing state-dependent and context-related shifts in regulatory access under load. The protocol uses a flanker-based task architecture, contextual tone load, progressive temporal compression, and controlled recovery probes to examine how rule-guided action may become less accessible as demands accumulate. The framework is designed to support observation of patterned change across behavioral performance, breakpoint classification, immediate rule access, post-breakpoint recovery, retest behavior, debrief data, and optional physiological context streams. ARM is presented here as the micro-level analytic lens within the broader Triplex Regulatory Framework (TRF), which organizes regulation across macro-, meso-, and micro-level dynamics. Within that larger systems view, ARM focuses specifically on the moment-to-moment conditions that constrain or preserve access to adaptive action under load. This work is offered as a falsifiable, measurement-oriented working paper intended to support interdisciplinary investigation of behavior under load. It is not presented as a diagnostic instrument, validated clinical tool, or treatment model. Correspondence: Hector L. Rosa, [email protected]