ReCoN-Ipsundrum: An Inspectable Recurrent Persistence Loop Agent with Affect-Coupled Control and Mechanism-Linked Consciousness Indicator Assays

Aishik Sanyal

cs.AIFeb 26, 2026

ReCoN-Ipsundrum: An Inspectable Recurrent Persistence Loop Agent with Affect-Coupled Control and Mechanism-Linked Consciousness Indicator Assays

Authors: Aishik Sanyal

Organizations: Independent Research Engineer

Abstract

Indicator-based approaches to machine consciousness recommend mechanism-linked evidence triangulated across tasks, supported by architectural inspection and causal intervention. Inspired by Humphrey's ipsundrum hypothesis, we implement ReCoN-Ipsundrum, an inspectable agent that extends a ReCoN state machine with a recurrent persistence loop over sensory salience $N^s$ and an optional affect proxy reporting valence/arousal. Across fixed-parameter ablations (ReCoN, Ipsundrum, Ipsundrum+affect), we operationalize Humphrey's qualiaphilia (preference for sensory experience for its own sake) as a familiarity-controlled scenic-over-dull route choice. We find a novelty dissociation: non-affect variants are novelty-sensitive ( $Δ$ scenic-entry = 0.07). Affect coupling is stable ( $Δ$ scenic-entry = 0.01) even when scenic is less novel (median { $Δ$ novelty $\approx$ -0.43). In reward-free exploratory play, the affect variant shows structured local investigation (scan events 31.4 vs. 0.9; cycle score 7.6). In a pain-tail probe, only the affect variant sustains prolonged planned caution (tail duration 90 vs. 5). Lesioning feedback+integration selectively reduces post-stimulus persistence in ipsundrum variants (AUC drop 27.62, 27.9%) while leaving ReCoN unchanged. These dissociations link recurrence $\rightarrow$ persistence and affect-coupled control $\rightarrow$ preference stability, scanning, and lingering caution, illustrating how indicator-like signatures can be engineered and why mechanistic and causal evidence should accompany behavioral markers.

Figures & tables

Indicator signpost (Butlin et al.)	What we implement (minimal correspondence)	Important gaps / non-claims
RPT-1 (recurrent processing)	A localized recurrent loop sustaining $N^{s}$ after transient stimulus; explicit lesion of feedback+integration.	Not a neural RPT model; no learning; toy domains.
PP-1 (predictive processing)	Short-horizon internal rollout using a one-step forward model; epistemic term based on predicted sensory change.	Not hierarchical predictive coding; no online learning; not full active inference.
Interoception affect (broadly)	A body-budget proxy and valence/arousal readouts; optional modulation of gain/precision by affect.	Not physiological sensing; no rich autonomic loop; abstraction only.

Table 1: We use selected indicator labels from Butlin et al. (2025) only as design signposts . “Correspondence” denotes a minimal computational element, not a realization of the full theory family.

Model	Ipsundrum recurrence	Affect proxy	Gated $P$
ReCoN (baseline; stage B)	×	×	×
Ipsundrum (stage D)	✓	×	✓
Ipsundrum+affect (stage D)	✓	✓	✓

Table 2: Model variants evaluated. The two ipsundrum rows differ only by the affect proxy layer (and its optional coupling to loop gain/precision).

Assay	Setup / manipulation	Primary readouts
Goal-directed navigation	CorridorWorld and GridWorld with hazards; explicit progress term enabled; curiosity off; sweep planning horizon $H$ .	Hazard contacts; steps-to-goal; success rate.
Corridor preference with familiarity control	Two equally safe routes (scenic vs. dull). Pre-exposure manipulates lane familiarity; post episodes add a curiosity bonus from visitation memory.	Scenic-entry rate; novelty sensitivity $\Delta$ scenic-entry; (Ipsundrum+affect) internal valence/arousal probe.
Exploratory play	Reward-free neutral-texture gridworld (200 steps), with curiosity enabled in the headline play condition.	Unique viewpoints; scan events; cycle score; action entropy/dwell.
Pain-tail	Force one hazard contact, then remove the hazard and hold the state fixed while recording planned actions for 200 steps.	Post-stimulus $N^{s}$ AUC above baseline; planned turn-rate tail duration.
Causal lesion	In-episode lesion at $t{=}3$ disabling ipsundrum feedback+integration (vs. sham).	Post-lesion $N^{s}$ AUC and AUC drop (150-step window).

Table 3: Assays used in this paper and their primary readouts.

	CorridorWorld (all horizons)			GridWorld (all horizons)
Model	Hazards	Time	Success	Hazards	Time	Success
ReCoN	3.05[2.00,4.25]	50.00[37.35,63.20]	0.55[0.30,0.75]	14.30[8.90,20.05]	171.80[131.30,211.10]	0.50[0.30,0.70]
Ipsundrum	2.90[1.90,4.05]	49.73[37.12,62.83]	0.58[0.35,0.78]	2.45[1.27,3.85]	129.77[90.63,168.70]	0.72[0.53,0.90]
Ipsundrum+affect	0.00[0.00,0.00]	52.71[47.16,58.40]	0.73[0.61,0.83]	0.26[0.10,0.44]	9.54[4.75,16.23]	0.99[0.97,1.00]

Table 4: Goal-directed performance aggregated across the horizon sweep (per-seed means over horizons; 95% bootstrap CI over

N=20

seeds). Time is steps-to-goal (failures counted at the time limit).

Signature (assay)	Recon	Ipsundrum	Ipsundrum+affect
Persistence in $N^{s}$ (lesion / pain-tail AUC)	$\times$	$\checkmark$	$\checkmark$
Valence-stable scenic preference (familiarity control)	$\times$	$\times$	$\checkmark$
Structured local scanning (play: scan events)	$\times$	$\times$	$\checkmark$
Lingering planned caution (pain-tail: tail duration)	$\times$	$\times$	$\checkmark$

Table 5: Empirical dissociation across our three variants. The table summarizes which indicator-like signatures attach to which components in our current results: recurrence supports post-stimulus persistence, while affect coupling is necessary for corridor preference stability, structured scanning, and lingering planned caution.

Figure 1: Familiarity-controlled corridor preference. Scenic-entry rates under novelty competition. Non-affect variants increase scenic seeking when scenic is more novel; the affect variant remains stable across the novelty manipulation.

Figure 2: Exploratory play. The affect variant shows more scan events and stronger limit-cycle structure without high-entropy random dithering.

Figure 3: Pain-tail assay. After hazard contact then removal, ipsundrum variants show non-zero post-stimulus $N^{s}$ AUC above baseline, but only the affect variant shows prolonged planned caution (turn-rate tail duration).

Figure 4: Causal lesion. Lesioning feedback+integration reduces post-stimulus persistence ( $N^{s}$ AUC) in ipsundrum variants.

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Creatures that display 'hedonic place preference behaviour' are thought by many scientists to experience feelings, on the assumption that their attraction to pleasure-producing substances which lack nutritional value (e.g. cocaine, morphine) cannot easily be attributed to unconscious instinctual behaviour. In this paper, we discuss how a simple artificial agent that instantiates attributes of an affective system engaging in felt uncertainty about its intrinsic needs in relation to environmental resources can similarly display hedonic place preference behaviour -- through an apparently subjective form of information processing -- while simultaneously being entirely deter-ministic. We outline some implications of this artificially engineered behaviour for our understanding of the physical basis of consciousness and the experience of free will.

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