All 92 Mechanisms

Every neuroscience mechanism translated into code. 18,000 lines. Built in 20 days.

Thalamus

The brain's gatekeeper. Filters incoming signals so only important information reaches memory.

• 4 Nuclei — specialized processing units evaluating novelty, relevance, emotion, and task importance
• Burst/Tonic Modes — burst at session start (absorb everything), tonic during steady state (selective)
• Cross-Inhibition — competing signals suppress each other, strongest wins
• Adaptive Thresholds — auto-adjust based on input volume
• Sensory Gating — repeated info gets quieter
• Latent Inhibition — previously irrelevant stimuli are harder to learn about

Spreading Activation

How one memory triggers connected memories — the core retrieval mechanism.

• Multi-Hop — activation spreads across multiple connected nodes
• Priming — recently activated nodes are easier to reach
• Inhibition of Return — already-visited paths temporarily suppressed
• Myelination — frequently-used pathways get faster (stronger edges)
• Pattern Completion — partial input activates the full pattern

Synaptic

How connections between nodes strengthen and weaken over time.

• Hebbian Learning — "fire together, wire together"
• Anti-Hebbian — competing patterns weaken each other
• STDP — timing-dependent plasticity (order matters)
• Homeostatic Scaling — prevents runaway strengthening
• Pruning — weak connections get removed
• Pattern Separation — similar inputs stored as distinct memories
• Sparse Coding — efficient representation using fewer active nodes

Emotion

Emotional context modulates memory storage and retrieval.

• Amygdala — emotional significance detection
• Neuromodulators — dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, acetylcholine effects
• Somatic Markers — "gut feelings" from past outcomes
• Approach/Avoidance — positive outcomes strengthen approach, negative strengthen avoidance
• Predictive Coding — prediction errors drive learning

Control

Executive functions that manage attention and decision-making.

• Working Memory — limited-capacity active buffer
• Dual Process — fast (intuitive) vs slow (deliberate) processing
• Salience — detecting what's important right now
• Conflict Monitoring — detecting contradictions in knowledge
• Task Switching — adapting to topic changes
• Metacognition — thinking about thinking
• Session Focus — maintaining coherent context within a session

Hippocampus

New memory formation and initial storage.

• Encoding Specificity — context at encoding matters for retrieval
• 2-Tier Memory — short-term buffer before long-term storage
• Generation Effect — self-generated knowledge remembered better
• Novelty Detection — new information gets priority processing
• Synaptic Tagging — important events get "tagged" for later consolidation

Maintenance

Background processes that keep the brain healthy and growing.

• 6h Consolidation — automatic sleep cycles every 6 hours
• NREM Sleep — strengthens important memories
• REM Sleep — creative connections between unrelated knowledge
• Replay — re-activating recent memories for strengthening
• Reconsolidation — updating memories when recalled
• Spacing Effect — spaced repetition strengthens long-term retention
• Schema Formation — individual facts merge into high-level patterns

Advanced

• Provider Bias — adapts context format per AI provider
• Cue Overload — prevents retrieval failure from too many associations
• Interference — old and new memories competing
• Tip-of-Tongue — partial retrieval detection
• Corollary Discharge — distinguishing self-generated from external input
• Brainwaves — oscillation patterns governing processing modes
• Default Mode Network — background processing during idle time
• Habits — frequently repeated actions become automatic

Hunger System

• Knowledge Gaps — detecting holes in the knowledge graph
• Curiosity Impulses — driving the AI to ask targeted questions
• Dopamine Reward — reinforcing successful learning
• Active Info Seeking — proactive knowledge acquisition

6 Senses

• Code Sense — programming pattern detection
• Tone Sense — communication style analysis
• Emotion Bypass — high-emotion signals skip the Thalamus
• Interoception — system health monitoring
• Stability Sense — knowledge consistency tracking
• Context Sense — situational awareness

Quality

• Evidence Accumulation — building confidence through multiple sources
• Sarcasm Filter — detecting non-literal communication
• VTA Loop — reward prediction error for learning optimization
• Self-Tuning — automatic parameter optimization
• Cerebellum Feedback — fine-tuning outputs based on results

Deep Encoding

• Event Boundaries — segmenting continuous experience into distinct episodes
• Engrams — physical memory traces in the graph
• Neurogenesis — creating new nodes for genuinely new concepts
• Systems Consolidation — gradual transfer from recent to permanent storage

Social Cognition

• User Model / Theory of Mind — understanding the user's mental state
• Empathy Modes — cognitive and affective empathy
• Task-Set Inference — understanding what the user is trying to achieve
• Pragmatic Intent — reading between the lines

AI Psychology

• Provider Personality Profiles — each AI has different strengths and quirks
• Context-Format Optimization — adapting output format per provider
• Effectiveness Learning — tracking what context formats work best
• Cross-Provider Identity — maintaining consistent identity across AIs

Metacognition

• Feeling of Knowing — confidence estimation before full retrieval
• Judgment of Learning — predicting future recall success
• 3 Attention Systems — alerting, orienting, executive control
• Self-Model — the brain's model of itself

Fine Mechanics

• Refractory Period — minimum time between activations
• Release Probability — stochastic element in activation spread
• Short-Term Plasticity — rapid temporary changes in connection strength
• Metaplasticity — the plasticity of plasticity itself
• Inhibitory Plasticity — inhibition also learns and adapts

Life

• Background Processing — continuous operation between sessions
• Proactive Context Warming — pre-activating likely-needed knowledge
• DMN Creative Connections — default mode network finding novel links
• System Mood — global brain state influencing processing

Lifecycle

• Development Phases — Child, Youth, Adult, Wise
• Age-Specific Behavior — each phase adjusts all subsystem parameters