# Observable Performance Does Not Fully Reflect Adaptive System Organization: A Multi-Level Analysis of Gait Dynamics Under Occlusal Constraint

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.00778 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.00778/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 0 of its 26 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 1 May 2026.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [From Performance to Representational Adequacy: A Representational Bootstrap Framework for Adaptive Biological Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.01374/) (2026)
- [Bootstrap Theory of Representational Emergence (TBER): Explanatory Insufficiency, Transition Regimes, and the Emergence of New Representational Levels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.07303/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In biomechanical systems, observable performance is often used as a proxy for underlying organization, although similar outputs may arise from different adaptive configurations. This study considers the vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO) as a constraint applied to an adaptive neuromechanical system. A single-case design in a patient with Parkinson's disease enabled repeated intra-individual gait observations under six occlusal probes. Three complementary analytical levels were examined: (i) an aggregated scalar score of observable performance, (ii) a conceptual dynamical systems framework, and (iii) an exploratory UMAP representation of 55 standardized biomechanical variables from 270 M1 observations. The revised Level 1 analysis showed that the relative ranking of OC2.5 and OC3 depended on score construction, while their scalar distributions remained close. The Level 3 embedding showed substantial overlap among all six probes and did not identify independently separated condition-specific clusters. OC2.5 and OC3 displayed limited centroid displacement but broad observation-level overlap. The principal result is therefore representational non-identifiability: neither the aggregated score nor the selected low-dimensional embedding uniquely identifies an occlusal-condition-specific system state. VDO is interpreted as a constraint parameter rather than a causal determinant. The findings are exploratory, model dependent, and non causal. They do not establish distinct physiological states, an optimal VDO, clinical thresholds, or diagnostic, predictive, mechanistic, or prescriptive validity.