The Bio-Informational Continuum: Unifying Physiological Survival and Psychological Coherence via the Unified Dynamic Model of Mind (UDMM)

Abstract Contemporary cognitive science and psychiatry remain fractured by persistent dualisms: mind versus body, meaning versus mechanism, continuity versus discontinuity. While biological models explain homeostasis through thermodynamic regulation, and psychological theories address meaning through narrative and symbolism, no framework successfully unifies these domains under a single principled account. This paper presents the Unified Dynamic Model of Mind (UDMM)—a comprehensive seven-level architecture that resolves these dualisms through a hierarchical bio-informational continuum. At its foundation, UDMM proposes that physiological survival and psychological coherence are governed by a singular homeostatic principle operating across two substrates: thermodynamic (energy regulation) and informational (meaning regulation). This core insight generates seven integrated levels of analysis: (1) Bio-Informational Continuum; (2) Three-Layer Intent Architecture; (3) Temporal Synchronization Engine; (4) Affective Foundations; (5) Emergent Consciousness; (6) Cognitive Equilibrium (C_m); and (7) Hybrid Continuous-Discrete System. By integrating these levels, UDMM provides a parsimonious account of agency, psychopathology, learning, and identity. It reframes mental disorders as rational failures in bio-informational regulation—strategies to minimize "Cost of Collapse"—and offers novel therapeutic approaches based on attractor engineering. This framework advances a truly unified science of mind, bridging neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology, and computational modeling