Cognitive Load Distribution: Admissible Allocation of Processing Resources in Cognitive Systems

Cognitive systems must process environmental signals, internal representations, and decision requirements while operating under strict structural limits. This paper interprets cognitive load within the Paton System framework as the distribution of processing demand across the admissible capacity of a cognitive architecture. Rather than treating load purely as a psychological variable, the Paton System models it as a structural allocation problem governed by admissibility boundaries. Within this framework, cognition maintains coherence between perception, evaluation, and action when processing demand remains within admissible structural limits. Cognitive systems operate under constraints including memory capacity, attentional bandwidth, processing speed, and energetic limitations. These constraints define the structural envelope within which cognition can operate. Cognitive load distribution therefore refers to the allocation of processing capacity across concurrent cognitive tasks. Attention, working memory, and executive control mechanisms regulate this distribution to ensure that no subsystem exceeds admissible limits. When cognitive demand exceeds these limits, instability emerges in the form of overload, degraded decision-making, perceptual filtering failure, or behavioural error. Under extreme informational strain, cognitive systems compress activity toward a minimal viable configuration corresponding to the Lowest Admissible Configuration (LCD), preserving only identity-maintaining processes. By interpreting cognitive load as an admissibility-regulated structural allocation problem, the Paton System clarifies how cognitive systems maintain stability and coherence under conditions of informational complexity.