diff --git a/crates/vestige-mcp/src/cognitive.rs b/crates/vestige-mcp/src/cognitive.rs
index 2fd8e77..6f9c174 100644
--- a/crates/vestige-mcp/src/cognitive.rs
+++ b/crates/vestige-mcp/src/cognitive.rs
@@ -9,13 +9,15 @@ use vestige_core::{
     ActivationNetwork, SynapticTaggingSystem, HippocampalIndex, ContextMatcher,
     AccessibilityCalculator, CompetitionManager, StateUpdateService,
     ImportanceSignals, NoveltySignal, ArousalSignal, RewardSignal, AttentionSignal,
-    EmotionalMemory,
+    EmotionalMemory, LinkType,
     // Advanced modules
     ImportanceTracker, ReconsolidationManager, IntentDetector, ActivityTracker,
     MemoryDreamer, MemoryChainBuilder, MemoryCompressor, CrossProjectLearner,
     AdaptiveEmbedder, SpeculativeRetriever, ConsolidationScheduler,
     // Search modules
     Reranker, RerankerConfig,
+    // Storage
+    Storage,
 };
 use vestige_core::search::TemporalSearcher;
 use vestige_core::neuroscience::predictive_retrieval::PredictiveMemory;
@@ -70,6 +72,41 @@ impl Default for CognitiveEngine {
 }
 
 impl CognitiveEngine {
+    /// Load persisted connections from storage into in-memory cognitive modules.
+    ///
+    /// Currently hydrates `ActivationNetwork` which serves `explore_connections`
+    /// "associations" queries. Other modules (MemoryChainBuilder, HippocampalIndex)
+    /// require full MemoryNode content and are deferred to a follow-up.
+    pub fn hydrate(&mut self, storage: &Storage) {
+        match storage.get_all_connections() {
+            Ok(connections) => {
+                for conn in &connections {
+                    let link_type = match conn.link_type.as_str() {
+                        "semantic" => LinkType::Semantic,
+                        "temporal" => LinkType::Temporal,
+                        "causal" => LinkType::Causal,
+                        "spatial" => LinkType::Spatial,
+                        "shared_concepts" | "complementary" => LinkType::Semantic,
+                        _ => LinkType::Semantic,
+                    };
+                    self.activation_network.add_edge(
+                        conn.source_id.clone(),
+                        conn.target_id.clone(),
+                        link_type,
+                        conn.strength,
+                    );
+                }
+                tracing::info!(
+                    count = connections.len(),
+                    "Hydrated cognitive modules from persisted connections"
+                );
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!("Failed to hydrate cognitive modules: {}", e);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Initialize all cognitive modules with default configurations.
     pub fn new() -> Self {
         Self {
@@ -110,3 +147,110 @@ impl CognitiveEngine {
         }
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use vestige_core::{ConnectionRecord, IngestInput};
+    use chrono::Utc;
+    use tempfile::TempDir;
+
+    fn create_test_storage() -> (Storage, TempDir) {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let storage = Storage::new(Some(dir.path().join("test.db"))).unwrap();
+        (storage, dir)
+    }
+
+    fn ingest_memory(storage: &Storage, content: &str) -> String {
+        let result = storage.ingest(IngestInput {
+            content: content.to_string(),
+            node_type: "fact".to_string(),
+            source: None,
+            sentiment_score: 0.0,
+            sentiment_magnitude: 0.0,
+            tags: vec!["test".to_string()],
+            valid_from: None,
+            valid_until: None,
+        }).unwrap();
+        result.id
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_hydrate_empty_storage() {
+        let (storage, _dir) = create_test_storage();
+        let mut engine = CognitiveEngine::new();
+        engine.hydrate(&storage);
+        // Should succeed with 0 connections
+        let assocs = engine.activation_network.get_associations("nonexistent");
+        assert!(assocs.is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_hydrate_loads_connections() {
+        let (storage, _dir) = create_test_storage();
+
+        // Create two memories so FK constraints pass
+        let id1 = ingest_memory(&storage, "Memory about Rust programming");
+        let id2 = ingest_memory(&storage, "Memory about Cargo build system");
+
+        // Save a connection between them
+        let now = Utc::now();
+        storage.save_connection(&ConnectionRecord {
+            source_id: id1.clone(),
+            target_id: id2.clone(),
+            strength: 0.85,
+            link_type: "semantic".to_string(),
+            created_at: now,
+            last_activated: now,
+            activation_count: 1,
+        }).unwrap();
+
+        // Hydrate engine
+        let mut engine = CognitiveEngine::new();
+        engine.hydrate(&storage);
+
+        // Verify activation network has the connection
+        let assocs = engine.activation_network.get_associations(&id1);
+        assert!(!assocs.is_empty(), "Hydrated engine should have associations for {}", id1);
+        assert!(
+            assocs.iter().any(|a| a.memory_id == id2),
+            "Should find connection to {}",
+            id2
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_hydrate_multiple_link_types() {
+        let (storage, _dir) = create_test_storage();
+
+        let id1 = ingest_memory(&storage, "Event A happened");
+        let id2 = ingest_memory(&storage, "Event B followed");
+        let id3 = ingest_memory(&storage, "Event C was caused by A");
+
+        let now = Utc::now();
+        storage.save_connection(&ConnectionRecord {
+            source_id: id1.clone(),
+            target_id: id2.clone(),
+            strength: 0.7,
+            link_type: "temporal".to_string(),
+            created_at: now,
+            last_activated: now,
+            activation_count: 1,
+        }).unwrap();
+        storage.save_connection(&ConnectionRecord {
+            source_id: id1.clone(),
+            target_id: id3.clone(),
+            strength: 0.9,
+            link_type: "causal".to_string(),
+            created_at: now,
+            last_activated: now,
+            activation_count: 1,
+        }).unwrap();
+
+        let mut engine = CognitiveEngine::new();
+        engine.hydrate(&storage);
+
+        let assocs = engine.activation_network.get_associations(&id1);
+        assert!(assocs.len() >= 2, "Should have at least 2 associations, got {}", assocs.len());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/vestige-mcp/src/main.rs b/crates/vestige-mcp/src/main.rs
index c9bec88..c3391f5 100644
--- a/crates/vestige-mcp/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/vestige-mcp/src/main.rs
@@ -224,7 +224,12 @@ async fn main() {
 
     // Create cognitive engine (stateful neuroscience modules)
     let cognitive = Arc::new(Mutex::new(cognitive::CognitiveEngine::new()));
-    info!("CognitiveEngine initialized (28 modules)");
+    // Hydrate cognitive modules from persisted connections
+    {
+        let mut cog = cognitive.lock().await;
+        cog.hydrate(&storage);
+    }
+    info!("CognitiveEngine initialized and hydrated");
 
     // Create shared event broadcast channel for dashboard <-> MCP tool events
     let (event_tx, _) = tokio::sync::broadcast::channel::<vestige_mcp::dashboard::events::VestigeEvent>(1024);
diff --git a/crates/vestige-mcp/src/tools/dream.rs b/crates/vestige-mcp/src/tools/dream.rs
index 774b956..f84f8d5 100644
--- a/crates/vestige-mcp/src/tools/dream.rs
+++ b/crates/vestige-mcp/src/tools/dream.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ use tokio::sync::Mutex;
 
 use chrono::Utc;
 use crate::cognitive::CognitiveEngine;
-use vestige_core::{DreamHistoryRecord, Storage};
+use vestige_core::{DreamHistoryRecord, LinkType, Storage};
 
 pub fn schema() -> serde_json::Value {
     serde_json::json!({
@@ -116,8 +116,17 @@ pub async fn execute(
                 last_activated: now,
                 activation_count: 1,
             };
-            if storage.save_connection(&record).is_ok() {
-                connections_persisted += 1;
+            match storage.save_connection(&record) {
+                Ok(_) => connections_persisted += 1,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::warn!(
+                        source = %conn.from_id,
+                        target = %conn.to_id,
+                        link_type = %link_type,
+                        "Failed to persist dream connection: {}",
+                        e
+                    );
+                }
             }
         }
         if connections_persisted > 0 {
@@ -129,6 +138,26 @@ pub async fn execute(
         }
     }
 
+    // Hydrate live cognitive engine with newly persisted connections
+    if connections_persisted > 0 {
+        let mut cog = cognitive.lock().await;
+        for conn in new_connections {
+            let link_type_enum = match conn.connection_type {
+                vestige_core::DiscoveredConnectionType::Semantic => LinkType::Semantic,
+                vestige_core::DiscoveredConnectionType::SharedConcept => LinkType::Semantic,
+                vestige_core::DiscoveredConnectionType::Temporal => LinkType::Temporal,
+                vestige_core::DiscoveredConnectionType::Complementary => LinkType::Semantic,
+                vestige_core::DiscoveredConnectionType::CausalChain => LinkType::Causal,
+            };
+            cog.activation_network.add_edge(
+                conn.from_id.clone(),
+                conn.to_id.clone(),
+                link_type_enum,
+                conn.similarity,
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
     // Persist dream history (non-fatal on failure — dream still happened)
     {
         let record = DreamHistoryRecord {
@@ -309,4 +338,198 @@ mod tests {
             assert!(last.is_some(), "Dream should have been persisted to database");
         }
     }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_dream_connections_round_trip() {
+        // Verify dream → persist → query round-trip
+        let (storage, _dir) = test_storage().await;
+
+        // Create enough diverse memories to trigger connection discovery
+        for i in 0..15 {
+            storage.ingest(vestige_core::IngestInput {
+                content: format!(
+                    "Memory {} about topic {}: detailed content for connection discovery",
+                    i,
+                    if i % 3 == 0 { "rust" } else if i % 3 == 1 { "cargo" } else { "testing" }
+                ),
+                node_type: "fact".to_string(),
+                source: None,
+                sentiment_score: 0.0,
+                sentiment_magnitude: 0.0,
+                tags: vec!["dream-roundtrip".to_string()],
+                valid_from: None,
+                valid_until: None,
+            }).unwrap();
+        }
+
+        let cognitive = test_cognitive();
+        let result = execute(&storage, &cognitive, None).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(result["status"], "dreamed");
+
+        let persisted = result["connectionsPersisted"].as_u64().unwrap_or(0);
+        if persisted > 0 {
+            // Verify connections are queryable from storage
+            let all_conns = storage.get_all_connections().unwrap();
+            assert!(!all_conns.is_empty(), "Persisted connections should be queryable");
+
+            // Verify connection IDs reference valid memories
+            let all_nodes = storage.get_all_nodes(100, 0).unwrap();
+            let valid_ids: std::collections::HashSet<String> =
+                all_nodes.iter().map(|n| n.id.clone()).collect();
+            for conn in &all_conns {
+                assert!(
+                    valid_ids.contains(&conn.source_id),
+                    "Connection source_id {} should reference a valid memory",
+                    conn.source_id
+                );
+                assert!(
+                    valid_ids.contains(&conn.target_id),
+                    "Connection target_id {} should reference a valid memory",
+                    conn.target_id
+                );
+            }
+
+            // Verify live cognitive engine was hydrated
+            let cog = cognitive.lock().await;
+            let first_conn = &all_conns[0];
+            let assocs = cog.activation_network.get_associations(&first_conn.source_id);
+            assert!(
+                !assocs.is_empty(),
+                "Live cognitive engine should have been hydrated with dream connections"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Directly test save_connection with real memory IDs — isolates the persistence layer.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_save_connection_with_dream_ids() {
+        let (storage, _dir) = test_storage().await;
+
+        // Ingest memories and collect their IDs
+        let mut ids = Vec::new();
+        for i in 0..5 {
+            let result = storage.ingest(vestige_core::IngestInput {
+                content: format!("Save connection test memory {}", i),
+                node_type: "fact".to_string(),
+                source: None,
+                sentiment_score: 0.0,
+                sentiment_magnitude: 0.0,
+                tags: vec!["save-conn-test".to_string()],
+                valid_from: None,
+                valid_until: None,
+            }).unwrap();
+            ids.push(result.id);
+        }
+
+        // Simulate what dream does: save connections between real memory IDs
+        let now = chrono::Utc::now();
+        let mut saved = 0u32;
+        let mut errors = Vec::new();
+        for i in 0..ids.len() {
+            for j in (i+1)..ids.len() {
+                let record = vestige_core::ConnectionRecord {
+                    source_id: ids[i].clone(),
+                    target_id: ids[j].clone(),
+                    strength: 0.75,
+                    link_type: "semantic".to_string(),
+                    created_at: now,
+                    last_activated: now,
+                    activation_count: 1,
+                };
+                match storage.save_connection(&record) {
+                    Ok(_) => saved += 1,
+                    Err(e) => errors.push(format!(
+                        "{} -> {}: {}",
+                        ids[i], ids[j], e
+                    )),
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        assert!(
+            errors.is_empty(),
+            "save_connection failed for {} of {} connections:\n{}",
+            errors.len(),
+            saved + errors.len() as u32,
+            errors.join("\n")
+        );
+        assert!(saved > 0, "Should have saved at least one connection");
+
+        // Verify they're queryable
+        let all = storage.get_all_connections().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(all.len(), saved as usize);
+
+        // Verify per-memory query
+        let conns = storage.get_connections_for_memory(&ids[0]).unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            !conns.is_empty(),
+            "get_connections_for_memory should return connections for {}",
+            ids[0]
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Test that dream actually discovers connections and they persist.
+    /// Unlike test_dream_connections_round_trip, this ASSERTS on the dream
+    /// discovering connections (not just conditionally checking).
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_dream_discovers_and_persists_connections() {
+        let (storage, _dir) = test_storage().await;
+
+        // Ingest memories with known high-similarity content (shared tags + similar text)
+        let topics = [
+            ("Rust borrow checker prevents data races at compile time", vec!["rust", "safety"]),
+            ("Rust ownership model ensures memory safety without GC", vec!["rust", "safety"]),
+            ("Cargo is the Rust package manager and build system", vec!["rust", "cargo"]),
+            ("Cargo.toml defines dependencies for Rust projects", vec!["rust", "cargo"]),
+            ("Unit tests in Rust use #[test] attribute", vec!["rust", "testing"]),
+            ("Integration tests in Rust live in the tests/ directory", vec!["rust", "testing"]),
+            ("Clippy is a Rust linter that catches common mistakes", vec!["rust", "tooling"]),
+            ("Rustfmt formats Rust code according to style guidelines", vec!["rust", "tooling"]),
+        ];
+
+        for (content, tags) in &topics {
+            storage.ingest(vestige_core::IngestInput {
+                content: content.to_string(),
+                node_type: "fact".to_string(),
+                source: None,
+                sentiment_score: 0.0,
+                sentiment_magnitude: 0.0,
+                tags: tags.iter().map(|t| t.to_string()).collect(),
+                valid_from: None,
+                valid_until: None,
+            }).unwrap();
+        }
+
+        let cognitive = test_cognitive();
+        let result = execute(&storage, &cognitive, None).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(result["status"], "dreamed");
+
+        let found = result["stats"]["new_connections_found"].as_u64().unwrap_or(0);
+        let persisted = result["connectionsPersisted"].as_u64().unwrap_or(0);
+
+        // Dream should discover connections between these related memories
+        // (they share tags and have similar content)
+        assert!(
+            found > 0,
+            "Dream should discover connections between related memories (found: {})",
+            found
+        );
+
+        // Key assertion: if connections were found, they should persist
+        assert_eq!(
+            persisted, found,
+            "All {} discovered connections should persist, but only {} did. \
+             Check tracing output for save_connection errors.",
+            found, persisted
+        );
+
+        // Verify round-trip through storage
+        let stored = storage.get_all_connections().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            stored.len(),
+            persisted as usize,
+            "Storage should contain exactly {} connections",
+            persisted
+        );
+    }
 }
diff --git a/crates/vestige-mcp/src/tools/explore.rs b/crates/vestige-mcp/src/tools/explore.rs
index 503bad5..8b9e5af 100644
--- a/crates/vestige-mcp/src/tools/explore.rs
+++ b/crates/vestige-mcp/src/tools/explore.rs
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ pub fn schema() -> serde_json::Value {
 }
 
 pub async fn execute(
-    _storage: &Arc<Storage>,
+    storage: &Arc<Storage>,
     cognitive: &Arc<Mutex<CognitiveEngine>>,
     args: Option<serde_json::Value>,
 ) -> Result<serde_json::Value, String> {
@@ -104,6 +104,26 @@ pub async fn execute(
 
             all_associations.truncate(limit);
 
+            // Fallback: if in-memory modules are empty, query storage directly
+            if all_associations.is_empty() {
+                drop(cog); // release cognitive lock before storage call
+                if let Ok(connections) = storage.get_connections_for_memory(from) {
+                    for conn in connections.iter().take(limit) {
+                        let other_id = if conn.source_id == from {
+                            &conn.target_id
+                        } else {
+                            &conn.source_id
+                        };
+                        all_associations.push(serde_json::json!({
+                            "memory_id": other_id,
+                            "strength": conn.strength,
+                            "link_type": conn.link_type,
+                            "source": "persistent_graph",
+                        }));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+
             Ok(serde_json::json!({
                 "action": "associations",
                 "from": from,
@@ -274,4 +294,61 @@ mod tests {
         let result = execute(&storage, &test_cognitive(), Some(args)).await;
         assert!(result.is_ok());
     }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_associations_storage_fallback() {
+        let (storage, _dir) = test_storage().await;
+
+        // Create two memories and a direct connection in storage
+        let id1 = storage.ingest(vestige_core::IngestInput {
+            content: "Memory about Rust".to_string(),
+            node_type: "fact".to_string(),
+            source: None,
+            sentiment_score: 0.0,
+            sentiment_magnitude: 0.0,
+            tags: vec!["test".to_string()],
+            valid_from: None,
+            valid_until: None,
+        }).unwrap().id;
+
+        let id2 = storage.ingest(vestige_core::IngestInput {
+            content: "Memory about Cargo".to_string(),
+            node_type: "fact".to_string(),
+            source: None,
+            sentiment_score: 0.0,
+            sentiment_magnitude: 0.0,
+            tags: vec!["test".to_string()],
+            valid_from: None,
+            valid_until: None,
+        }).unwrap().id;
+
+        // Save connection directly to storage (bypassing cognitive engine)
+        let now = chrono::Utc::now();
+        storage.save_connection(&vestige_core::ConnectionRecord {
+            source_id: id1.clone(),
+            target_id: id2.clone(),
+            strength: 0.9,
+            link_type: "semantic".to_string(),
+            created_at: now,
+            last_activated: now,
+            activation_count: 1,
+        }).unwrap();
+
+        // Execute with empty cognitive engine — should fall back to storage
+        let cognitive = test_cognitive();
+        let args = serde_json::json!({
+            "action": "associations",
+            "from": id1,
+        });
+        let result = execute(&storage, &cognitive, Some(args)).await;
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+        let value = result.unwrap();
+        let associations = value["associations"].as_array().unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            !associations.is_empty(),
+            "Should find associations via storage fallback"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(associations[0]["source"], "persistent_graph");
+        assert_eq!(associations[0]["memory_id"], id2);
+    }
 }