# From Retrieval to Reconstruction: Constructing Evolvable Cognitive Memory for Long-Term Dialogue

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11314 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.11314/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 9 of its 37 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 8 Oct 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [Gemini 1.5: Unlocking multimodal understanding across millions of tokens of context](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.05530/) (2024)
- [MemGPT: Towards LLMs as Operating Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.08560/) (2023)
- [M3-Embedding: Multi-Linguality, Multi-Functionality, Multi-Granularity Text Embeddings Through Self-Knowledge Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.03216/) (2024)
- [Mem0: Building Production-Ready AI Agents with Scalable Long-Term Memory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.19413/) (2025)
- [From RAG to Memory: Non-Parametric Continual Learning for Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.14802/) (2025)
- [LightMem: Lightweight and Efficient Memory-Augmented Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.18866/) (2025)
- [Memory OS of AI Agent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.06326/) (2025)
- [General Agentic Memory Via Deep Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.18423/) (2025)
- [CogMem: A Cognitive Memory Architecture for Sustained Multi-Turn Reasoning in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.14118/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large Language Models (LLMs) serving as long-term dialogue agents require memory systems that support reliable reasoning over extended interactions. However, existing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) frameworks typically treat memory as passive storage, making it difficult to distinguish source-attributed beliefs from unattributed event/fact records and to connect evidence dispersed across sessions. We introduce CogMem, a cognitive memory architecture based on the PEC2F (Person-Event-Concept-Claim-Fact) graph schema. Dedicated Claim nodes preserve the source and target of subjective statements, while Fact and Event nodes represent semantic and episodic knowledge. Dialogue turns are incrementally converted into provenance-aware graph records, consolidated into higher-level facts, and reconciled into temporally scoped Claim views when the same source provides conflicting updates. For retrieval, a rule-based controller driven by LLM intent parsing composes four deterministic graph operators---anchoring, traversal, intersection, and evidence grounding---to reconstruct query-relevant context. Experiments on LoCoMo and LongMemEval show strong performance, especially on multi-hop, temporal, and knowledge-update tasks. Ablations and a semantic-collapse probe support complementary contributions from epistemic separation, consolidation, and agentic retrieval. Code: https://github.com/Silent-Rain02/CogMem.