Coherent Cognitive Organization Under Extreme Neural Degradation: A Falsification-Driven Test of Collapse-Only Models of Cognition

This study presents a falsification-driven computational investigation of whether coherent cognitive organization is physically admissible under conditions of extreme neural degradation. A terminal biological neural environment is simulated under strict physical, causal, and energetic constraints, explicitly prohibiting neural repair, synaptogenesis, metabolic rebound, and predefined cognitive models. Contrary to collapse-only expectations, the system exhibits the spontaneous emergence of a globally coherent, noise-stable organizational structure without restoration of neural integrity. The results challenge scalar collapse models of cognition and support the view that cognitive organization may persist or re-emerge as a structural invariant of information dynamics under terminal constraints. While not addressing subjective experience, the findings establish the physical admissibility of terminal cognitive coherence and motivate reconsideration of terminal lucidity within a rigorous scientific framework.