# EngramNCA: a Neural Cellular Automaton Model of Memory Transfer

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.11855 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.11855/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 10 of its 38 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 16 Apr 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [Lenia - Biology of Artificial Life](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.05433/) (2018)
- [Variational Neural Cellular Automata](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.12360/) (2022)
- [Attention-based Neural Cellular Automata](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.01233/) (2022)
- [Growing Isotropic Neural Cellular Automata](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.01681/) (2022)
- [HyperNCA: Growing Developmental Networks with Neural Cellular Automata](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.11674/) (2022)
- [Towards self-organized control: Using neural cellular automata to robustly control a cart-pole agent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.15240/) (2021)
- [Goal-Guided Neural Cellular Automata: Learning to Control Self-Organising Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.06806/) (2022)
- [Neural Cellular Automata Manifold](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.12155/) (2020)
- [Severe Damage Recovery in Evolving Soft Robots through Differentiable Programming](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.06674/) (2022)
- [Empowered Neural Cellular Automata](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.06771/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [ARC-NCA: Towards Developmental Solutions to the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.08778/) (2025)
- [Neural cellular automata: applications to biology and beyond classical AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.11131/) (2025)
- [A Path to Universal Neural Cellular Automata](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.13058/) (2025)
- [A New Kind of Network? Review and Reference Implementation of Neural Cellular Automata](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.24990/) (2026)
- [BraiNCA: brain-inspired neural cellular automata and applications to morphogenesis and motor control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.01932/) (2026)
- [Architecture Generalization with MetaNCA](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.07743/) (2026)
- [On Growth and Form, and Function: Reusable Regulatory Handles Control Phenotypic Variation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.29755/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This study introduces EngramNCA, a neural cellular automaton (NCA) that integrates both publicly visible states and private, cell-internal memory channels, drawing inspiration from emerging biological evidence suggesting that memory storage extends beyond synaptic modifications to include intracellular mechanisms. The proposed model comprises two components: GeneCA, an NCA trained to develop distinct morphologies from seed cells containing immutable "gene" encodings, and GenePropCA, an auxiliary NCA that modulates the private "genetic" memory of cells without altering their visible states. This architecture enables the encoding and propagation of complex morphologies through the interaction of visible and private channels, facilitating the growth of diverse structures from a shared "genetic" substrate. EngramNCA supports the emergence of hierarchical and coexisting morphologies, offering insights into decentralized memory storage and transfer in artificial systems. These findings have potential implications for the development of adaptive, self-organizing systems and may contribute to the broader understanding of memory mechanisms in both biological and synthetic contexts.