ExplorerBrain Research Initiative

Temporal Regulatory Inconsistency (TRI)

Status of the TRI framework (v1)

The current presentation corresponds to Version 1 (v1) of the Temporal Regulatory Inconsistency (TRI) framework.

TRI v1 is a conceptual and descriptive formulation, intended to introduce and organize a time-dynamic perspective on within-individual variability in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
It does not present finalized empirical models or definitive mechanistic accounts.

Subsequent versions of the framework are expected to progressively incorporate operational definitions, empirical demonstrations, and model-based formalizations.

Conceptual overview

Temporal Regulatory Inconsistency (TRI) is a time-dynamic framework proposed to account for stable yet structured within-individual variability in ADHD.

Rather than focusing on average-level deficits in attention or executive function, TRI emphasizes how regulatory alignment fluctuates across time. The framework integrates behavioral, physiological, and neural observations into a unified temporal-regulatory perspective.

Core ideas introduced in TRI v1

Version 1 of TRI introduces a set of organizing ideas, including:

A shift from average performance measures to the temporal organization of regulatory processes
The use of quasi-attractor states as a descriptive language for recurrent but temporally unstable task-related configurations
A distinction between momentary performance efficiency and temporal persistence of regulatory states

These concepts are intended as descriptive and organizational tools, rather than as components of a formalized or parameterized model.

Temporal cascade hypothesis (working assumption)

TRI v1 adopts a working assumption that temporal instability may propagate across multiple time scales.

From this perspective, deviations in neural state transitions at millisecond scales may influence physiological regulation at second scales, which in turn may shape behavioral consistency over longer periods, such as minutes. This cascade view is used as an organizing lens, rather than as a definitive causal account.

Domains of manifestation discussed in TRI v1

Within TRI v1, previously reported findings are situated within a shared temporal-regulatory framework, including:

Behavioral-level temporal structure, such as reaction time variability, distributional tail lengthening, and segmented performance patterns
Neural and physiological indicators, including EEG microstates, dynamic functional connectivity, and LC–NE–related peripheral measures
The co-occurrence of initiation difficulty and hyperfocus, interpreted through asymmetric threshold structures in state transition processes

These domains are discussed as illustrative examples of how temporal-regulatory concepts may organize existing observations, rather than as novel empirical claims.

Positioning and limitations

TRI is intended to complement, not replace, existing theoretical approaches, including Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) and developmental perspectives.

By focusing on regulatory dynamics unfolding in real time, TRI highlights a temporal scale that has received comparatively less systematic attention. At its current stage, however, TRI remains primarily at the conceptual and organizational level and has not yet been evaluated through formal computational modeling or systematic experimental testing.

Versioning and future development

v1 (current): conceptual formulation and organization of existing observations
v2 (planned): operational definitions and empirical demonstrations
v3 (planned): model-based or formalized extensions

The Zenodo v1 record should be cited as the initial conceptual formulation of the TRI framework.

Citation

Liu, T. (2025).
Temporal Regulatory Inconsistency (TRI): A Time-Dynamic Framework for Within-Individual Variability in ADHD (Version 1).
Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17953456

This website serves as an explanatory and navigational layer. The Zenodo record constitutes the citable scholarly version.