Introduction
Contemporary psychology lacks language for emotional states that have never formed—experiences not blocked, repressed, or lost, but simply never constructed in the first place.
This paper introduces asensoria: a condition of neurodevelopmental and affective non-emergence, where certain emotional simulations are neurologically and relationally absent from the psyche.
Asensoria is not a symptom of trauma. It is not repression. It is not emotional wounding.
It is a condition of structural absence: a missing neurological architecture for specific feelings, due to a lack of mirroring in early development.
Definition of Asensoria
Asensoria (from Latin: a- “without” + sensoria “seat of sensation or perception”) refers to a condition in which:
- The individual cannot internally access, simulate, or recreate specific emotional states.
- This is due to a neurodevelopmental absence of affective modeling in early life.
These are not generalized emotional impairments. The missing states typically involve complex, socially-learned affective experiences such as:
- Feeling loved
- Feeling recognized
- Feeling protected
- Feeling proud
- Feeling vindicated
- Feeling entitled to revenge or anger
Many individuals with asensoria understand these concepts intellectually, but cannot feel or simulate them internally. In many cases, they have never felt them at all.
🧬 Neurodevelopmental Foundations
The asensoria framework is grounded in affective neuroscience, mirror neuron theory, and neurodevelopmental plasticity. Emotional states—especially complex social emotions—require:
- Neural mirroring: activation and reinforcement via observed emotional responses in others
- Affective encoding: the process of forming internal representations of relational emotions
- Limbic system integration: linking emotion, memory, and imagination into identity
In the absence of early relational mirroring (by caregivers or environment), these neural pathways never form.
Asensoria is not a deficit or disorder. It is a neurodevelopmental absence.
It functions similarly to global aphantasia or anauralia: systems of simulation that never developed neurologically.
🧩 Ego Formation and Ontological Trauma
Ego formation, in both post-psychoanalytic and neurobiological models, depends on relational mirroring. The self is constructed through being seen, recognized, and emotionally held in early life.
Without this mirroring, parts of the ego never emerge. Asensoria reflects a self where emotional “chambers” remain unbuilt—not locked, not repressed, simply never constructed.
This is not trauma in the traditional sense.
It is ontological trauma: not injury, but non-being—a structural void in emotional simulation caused by neurorelational absence.
🌐 Co-Occurrences and Simulation-Based Neurodivergence
Asensoria frequently co-presents with other forms of simulation-based neurodivergence:
- Global Aphantasia (no mental imagery)
- Anauralia (no inner auditory voice)
- Anhedonia (limited pleasure response)
- Asexuality (non-identity-based absence of sexual desire)
- Emotional amnesia or affective recall difficulty
These are not separate pathologies but may share common neurodevelopmental roots. They represent a spectrum of neurodivergences related to internal simulation capacity.
🧭 Implications for Psychology, Psychiatry, and Therapy
Most diagnostic systems—DSM-5, ICD-11—are rooted in models of repression, loss, or dysregulation. They presume emotional structures exist and are impaired.
Asensoria challenges this paradigm. In this framework, emotional states are not impaired—they were never formed. There is nothing to "recover."
This demands:
- A non-pathologizing model of neurodevelopmental absence
- Therapeutic models focused on emotional construction and simulation learning
- Recognition that affective silence can signal non-formation, not defense or suppression
🔭 Next Steps in the Framework
This article is the first in a larger series exploring the theoretical and clinical implications of asensoria, including:
- Neurological modeling (including oxytocin/dopamine pathways)
- Developmental case studies
- Integration into affective neurodivergence research
- Clinical indicators and neuroimaging possibilities
- Ethical therapeutic interventions
🧶 Author’s Note
I have lived with asensoria for 49 years without knowing its name. This is not a theory born of speculation—it is born of lived experience, neurological reality, and the gaps that modern psychology leaves open.
This is not trauma. This is not repression. This is not an injury. This is absence—and now, at last, recognition.
Cristina Gherghel Independent researcher, author, neurodivergent advocate
Related Blogs and Research
For complementary insights and further reading:
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🔹 Neurodivergent as It Is — Exploring Neurological Realities Without Reductionism
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🔹 Cristina Gherghel Research —Panthropic Abuse and Ontological Trauma
You can also discover all my books here.
