Thermogram

Plastic memory capsules with 4-temperature states and embedded SNN plasticity

Thermogram is a synaptic storage system that mimics biological memory consolidation:

• 4-Temperature States - Hot (working) / Warm (session) / Cool (expertise) / Cold (identity)
• Bidirectional Flow - Entries cement forward when reinforced, degrade backward when unused
• Embedded SNN - Runtime plasticity via STDP, homeostasis, competition, decay
• Ternary Weights - Optional BitNet-style quantization (16x compression)
• Hash-Chained Audit Trail - Cryptographic verification of all changes

The 4-Temperature Model

Biological memory systems don't have binary hot/cold states - they have gradual crystallization with bidirectional flow:

Bidirectional Transitions

HOT <-> WARM <-> COOL <-> COLD
 |        |        |        |
fast    medium   slow    glacial
decay   decay    decay   decay

• Cement forward: reinforce() strengthens entries, promotes to colder layers
• Degrade backward: weaken() or natural decay demotes to hotter layers
• Automatic transitions: run_thermal_transitions() handles promotion/demotion based on thresholds

Replacing Safetensors

Thermogram's cool layer serves as a drop-in replacement for safetensors checkpoints:

Migration path:

// Load safetensor weights
let weights: Vec<f32> = load_safetensor("model.safetensors")?;

// Import into thermogram cool layer
for (key, weight) in weights.iter().enumerate() {
    let entry = ConsolidatedEntry {
        key: format!("weight_{}", key),
        value: bincode::serialize(&weight)?,
        strength: 0.9,  // High strength = stays in cool
        ternary_strength: Some(TernaryWeight::from_f32(*weight, 0.3)),
        updated_at: Utc::now(),
        update_count: 1,
    };
    thermogram.cool_entries.insert(entry.key.clone(), entry);
}

// Now weights can evolve:
// - Reinforce successful patterns (may promote to cold)
// - Weaken unused patterns (may demote to warm)
// - All changes hash-chained and auditable

Embedded SNN - Runtime Plasticity

Each thermogram has an embedded spiking neural network (SNN) that actively shapes connections at runtime. This is NOT dead code - it's the plasticity engine:

How the SNN Works

use thermogram::{EmbeddedSNN, EmbeddedSNNConfig, NeuromodState, PlasticityEngine};

// Create SNN plasticity engine
let config = EmbeddedSNNConfig {
    num_neurons: 100,        // Concept prototypes
    input_dim: 2048,         // Activation dimension
    stdp_lr: 0.01,           // STDP learning rate
    homeostasis_target: 0.1, // Target firing rate
    competition_strength: 0.5,
    decay_rate: 0.001,
    use_ternary: true,       // Use ternary weights
    ..Default::default()
};
let mut snn = EmbeddedSNN::new(config);

// Neuromodulation affects plasticity
let mut neuromod = NeuromodState::baseline();
neuromod.reward(0.3);  // Dopamine spike -> increases learning rate

// Process activation vector from your model
let activation = get_layer_activations(); // e.g., from LLM hidden state
let deltas = snn.process(&activation, &neuromod)?;

// SNN generates deltas based on:
// - STDP: Cells that fire together wire together
// - Homeostasis: Prevents runaway strengthening
// - Competition: Winner-take-most (enforces sparsity)
// - Decay: Natural forgetting of unused connections

// Apply deltas to thermogram
for delta in deltas {
    thermogram.apply_delta(delta)?;
}

Neuromodulation

The SNN's behavior is modulated by four chemical signals:

let mut neuromod = NeuromodState::baseline();

// Reward -> increase dopamine -> faster learning
neuromod.reward(0.3);

// Stress -> decrease serotonin, increase NE -> faster forgetting, more competition
neuromod.stress(0.2);

// Focus -> increase acetylcholine -> sharper attention gating
neuromod.focus(0.2);

// Natural decay back to baseline
neuromod.decay(0.1);

Migration: 2-Temperature to 4-Temperature

If upgrading from thermogram 0.4.x (hot/cold only):

Breaking Changes in 0.5.0

1. ThermalState enum now has 4 variants: Hot, Warm, Cool, Cold
2. ThermalConfig fields are now [f32; 4] arrays
3. New HashMaps: warm_entries and cool_entries added to Thermogram

Automatic Migration

Old thermogram files (with only hot_entries and cold_entries) load correctly:

• warm_entries and cool_entries default to empty HashMap
• Use #[serde(default)] for backward compatibility

Manual Migration (if needed)

// Old 2-temp config
let old_config = ThermalConfig {
    crystallization_threshold: 0.75,
    min_observations: 3,
    prune_threshold: 0.05,
    allow_warming: true,
    warming_delta: 0.3,
};

// New 4-temp config (use defaults and customize)
let mut new_config = ThermalConfig::default();
new_config.promotion_thresholds[2] = old_config.crystallization_threshold; // Cool->Cold
new_config.prune_threshold = old_config.prune_threshold;

// Or use preset configs:
let config = ThermalConfig::fast_learner();  // Faster promotion, agents
let config = ThermalConfig::organic();       // Slower, gradual emergence

Installation

[dependencies]

thermogram = "0.5"

Quick Start

use thermogram::{Thermogram, PlasticityRule, ThermalState};

// Create thermogram
let mut thermo = Thermogram::new("my_memory", PlasticityRule::stdp_like());

// Apply delta (learning)
let delta = Delta::update(
    "concept_1",
    bincode::serialize(&vec![0.5f32; 384])?,
    "learning",
    0.8,
    thermo.dirty_chain.head_hash.clone(),
);
thermo.apply_delta(delta)?;

// Reinforce successful patterns
thermo.reinforce("concept_1", 0.2)?;

// Run thermal transitions (promotes/demotes based on strength)
thermo.run_thermal_transitions()?;

// Consolidate (dirty -> clean state)
thermo.consolidate()?;

// Save
thermo.save("memory.thermo")?;

Performance

• No GPU required - Pure Rust, runs anywhere
• Low memory - 1-10MB per thermogram
• Edge-friendly - Suitable for embedded/offline

Testing

77 tests passing

• Unit tests for all temperature layers
• Adversarial tests (tampering, corruption, NaN/Inf)
• Concurrency tests (thread safety, state isolation)
• Colony and distillation tests

Status

v0.5.0 - 4-Temperature Architecture

• 4-temperature states (hot/warm/cool/cold)
• Bidirectional thermal transitions
• Ternary weight support
• Colony management (split/merge/balance)
• Distillation (semantic delta sharing)
• Embedded SNN with neuromodulation

License

MIT OR Apache-2.0