Memory System Overview¶
This diagram provides a comprehensive overview of the NeuroCognitive Architecture (NCA) memory system.
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graph TB
classDef main fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#555,color:#fff
classDef component fill:#242424,stroke:#555,color:#fff
classDef subcomponent fill:#2b2b2b,stroke:#555,color:#fff
classDef tier fill:#203040,stroke:#555,color:#fff
classDef backend fill:#302030,stroke:#555,color:#fff
classDef manager fill:#203020,stroke:#555,color:#fff
subgraph MemorySystem["NCA Memory System"]
direction TB
class MemorySystem main
subgraph Tiers["Memory Tiers"]
direction TB
class Tiers component
subgraph WorkingMemory["Working Memory"]
direction TB
class WorkingMemory tier
ShortTerm[Short-term<br>Storage] --- Decay[Decay<br>Mechanism]
Capacity[Limited<br>Capacity] --- Retention[Short<br>Retention]
class ShortTerm,Decay,Capacity,Retention subcomponent
end
subgraph EpisodicMemory["Episodic Memory"]
direction TB
class EpisodicMemory tier
Episodes[Episode<br>Storage] --- Contexts[Context<br>Binding]
Temporal[Temporal<br>Ordering] --- Experiential[Experiential<br>Data]
class Episodes,Contexts,Temporal,Experiential subcomponent
end
subgraph SemanticMemory["Semantic Memory"]
direction TB
class SemanticMemory tier
Knowledge[Knowledge<br>Storage] --- Concepts[Concept<br>Networks]
Facts[Factual<br>Data] --- Relations[Relational<br>Maps]
class Knowledge,Concepts,Facts,Relations subcomponent
end
end
subgraph Manager["Memory Manager"]
direction TB
class Manager component
subgraph StorageManager["Storage Manager"]
direction TB
class StorageManager manager
Store[Store<br>Operation] --- Retrieve[Retrieve<br>Operation]
Delete[Delete<br>Operation] --- Update[Update<br>Operation]
class Store,Retrieve,Delete,Update subcomponent
end
subgraph ProcessingSystem["Processing System"]
direction TB
class ProcessingSystem manager
Indexing[Indexing<br>System] --- Search[Search<br>System]
Embedding[Embedding<br>System] --- Relevance[Relevance<br>Scoring]
class Indexing,Search,Embedding,Relevance subcomponent
end
subgraph MaintenanceSystem["Maintenance System"]
direction TB
class MaintenanceSystem manager
Consolidation[Memory<br>Consolidation] --- GC[Garbage<br>Collection]
Annealing[Memory<br>Annealing] --- Optimization[Memory<br>Optimization]
class Consolidation,GC,Annealing,Optimization subcomponent
end
subgraph TubuleSystem["Tubule System"]
direction TB
class TubuleSystem manager
Connection[Memory<br>Connections] --- Transfer[Memory<br>Transfer]
Pathways[Neural<br>Pathways] --- Integration[Memory<br>Integration]
class Connection,Transfer,Pathways,Integration subcomponent
end
subgraph LymphaticSystem["Lymphatic System"]
direction TB
class LymphaticSystem manager
Cleaning[Memory<br>Cleaning] --- Pruning[Memory<br>Pruning]
Maintenance[Health<br>Maintenance] --- Repair[Memory<br>Repair]
class Cleaning,Pruning,Maintenance,Repair subcomponent
end
end
subgraph Backends["Storage Backends"]
direction LR
class Backends component
subgraph InMemory["In-Memory Backend"]
direction TB
class InMemory backend
RAM[RAM<br>Storage] --- Volatile[Volatile<br>Storage]
class RAM,Volatile subcomponent
end
subgraph SQLite["SQLite Backend"]
direction TB
class SQLite backend
LocalDB[Local<br>Database] --- CRUD[CRUD<br>Operations]
Schema[Database<br>Schema] --- Indices[DB<br>Indices]
class LocalDB,CRUD,Schema,Indices subcomponent
end
subgraph Redis["Redis Backend"]
direction TB
class Redis backend
KeyValue[Key-Value<br>Store] --- Cache[Caching<br>Layer]
PubSub[Pub/Sub<br>System] --- TTL[Time-to-Live]
class KeyValue,Cache,PubSub,TTL subcomponent
end
subgraph Vector["Vector Storage Backend"]
direction TB
class Vector backend
VectorDB[Vector<br>Database] --- Similarity[Similarity<br>Search]
Dimensions[Dimension<br>Reduction] --- Clustering[Vector<br>Clustering]
class VectorDB,Similarity,Dimensions,Clustering subcomponent
end
end
subgraph Adapters["Memory Adapters"]
direction TB
class Adapters component
CoreAdapter[Core<br>Adapter] --- LangChain[LangChain<br>Adapter]
ExternalAdapter[External<br>Adapter] --- CustomAdapter[Custom<br>Adapter]
class CoreAdapter,LangChain,ExternalAdapter,CustomAdapter subcomponent
end
subgraph Models["Memory Models"]
direction TB
class Models component
MemoryItem[Memory<br>Item] --- MemoryQuery[Memory<br>Query]
MemoryType[Memory<br>Type] --- MemoryStats[Memory<br>Stats]
class MemoryItem,MemoryQuery,MemoryType,MemoryStats subcomponent
end
end
%% External connections
Core[Core<br>Components] --> Manager
API[API<br>Layer] --> Adapters
Integration[Integration<br>Layer] --> Adapters
%% Internal connections
Manager --> Tiers
Manager --> Backends
Adapters --> Tiers
Adapters --> Manager
Models --> Tiers
Models --> Manager
Models --> Backends
%% Inter-tier connections
WorkingMemory --> EpisodicMemory
EpisodicMemory --> SemanticMemory
%% Memory Manager internal connections
StorageManager --> ProcessingSystem
ProcessingSystem --> MaintenanceSystem
MaintenanceSystem --> TubuleSystem
TubuleSystem --> LymphaticSystem
%% Node styling
class Core,API,Integration subcomponentKey Components¶
Memory Tiers¶
- Working Memory: Short-term, limited capacity storage for active processing
- Short retention time with automatic decay mechanism
- Limited capacity (Miller's Law: 7±2 items)
-
Currently active information for immediate reasoning
-
Episodic Memory: Medium-term memory for experiences and events
- Stores contextual and temporal information
- Experiential data tied to specific events or interactions
-
Episodes can be recalled based on relevance to current context
-
Semantic Memory: Long-term storage for facts, knowledge, and concepts
- Stores conceptual relationships and factual information
- Knowledge networks and concept maps
- Persistent, long-term knowledge storage
Memory Manager¶
The memory manager orchestrates the interaction between memory tiers and backends:
- Storage Manager: Handles basic CRUD operations on memory items
- Processing System: Manages indexing, search, embedding, and relevance scoring
- Maintenance System: Handles memory consolidation, garbage collection, annealing, and optimization
- Tubule System: Manages memory connections and transfer between memory tiers
- Lymphatic System: Responsible for memory cleaning, pruning, health maintenance, and repair
Storage Backends¶
Multiple backend options for physical storage of memory data:
- In-Memory Backend: Fast, volatile RAM-based storage
- SQLite Backend: Persistent local database storage
- Redis Backend: Key-value store with caching capabilities
- Vector Storage Backend: Specialized storage for vector embeddings and similarity search
Adapters & Models¶
- Memory Adapters: Interface between memory system and other components
- Memory Models: Data structures and types defining memory items, queries, and statistics
The memory system is highly modular, allowing different backends to be swapped out based on deployment requirements and scale.