PhronesisWe apply the Displacement Framework to Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), formalizing sensory over-responsivity as W_sensory — a wrong attractor in which sensory stimuli that generate minimal D(ξ) in neurotypical individuals produce catastrophically amplified D(ξ) in affected individuals through impaired thalamocortical filtering. The sensory ground state S⁰_sensory is defined as proportionate thalamocortical processing: the thalamic reticular nucleus and corticothalamic feedback loop enabling appropriate signal attenuation across all modalities (tactile, auditory, visual, olfactory, proprioceptive, vestibular, interoceptive).
Three distinct attractor topologies map onto Miller's classification: over-responsivity (W_sensory with pathologically low activation threshold and high response amplitude), under-responsivity (W_sensory with blunted D(ξ_sensory) requiring strong stimulation to register), and sensory seeking (D(ξ_sensory)-deficiency requiring active stimulation for regulatory equilibrium). Nine formal propositions cover: S⁰_sensory thalamocortical definition (P1), W_sensory over-responsivity architecture (P2), three-pattern topology (P3), thalamic gating impairment as neurocognitive mechanism (P4), the meltdown/tantrum formal distinction — meltdown as W_sensory entry following Φ overflow vs. tantrum as strategic behavioral excursion (P5), stimming as self-administered return-path maintenance (P6), autism-SPD integration with 85-95% autism prevalence (P7), sensory diet as scheduled Φ-reduction return path (P8), and environmental modification as S⁰_sensory approximation (P9).
The paper formalizes ADHD sensory seeking, CPTSD sensory sensitization convergence, and the diagnostic controversy of SPD's DSM-5 exclusion.