VCH: Vascular Clamp
Specific constrictions freeze local neural dynamics and act like medium‑term memory for predictions.
Building on previous concepts
After CVH compresses a pattern, VCH can hold it in place. This is Active Inference's prediction storage mechanism.
Concepts you've learned so far:
Felt experience
What does this concept feel like in the body and behavior? Read, notice, then try.
Vascular clamping creates a distinctive sensation of 'holding' or 'freezing' in specific areas of the body. You might notice this as a quality of fixation—where attention or sensation gets locked in place, creating a sense of rigidity or immobility in both mind and body.
When the system makes a prediction, vascular clamps can literally hold that prediction 'in place' by constraining local neural dynamics. This feels like carrying a specific expectation or intention in the body—a somatic commitment to a particular outcome.
Mechanism
What the animation teaches: The wave drifts freely, then the clamp slides in and the wave STOPS - this is the key insight. Vascular clamps literally freeze local neural patterns in place for medium-term storage.
Vascular smooth muscle contractions create localized pressure that constrains nearby neural activity to specific patterns. This acts like a biological 'register' that can maintain a prediction or intention until it's either fulfilled, consolidated into long-term memory, or actively released.