Fungi May Communicate Through Electrical Signals

Scientists found recurring electrical signal patterns in fungal networks that can be grouped into as many as 50 word-like signals.

Medicine

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Fungi may be doing something surprisingly sophisticated underground. A study of four fungal species found electrical spikes traveling through their networks of tiny filaments, called hyphae. The spikes often appeared in repeated trains and patterns rather than as completely random activity. Researchers analyzed those patterns using ideas borrowed from language studies and found that their lengths showed similarities to word lengths in human languages. The analysis suggested that some fungal networks could contain as many as 50 distinct word-like patterns, although the most frequently observed patterns were closer to 15 to 20. Split-gill fungi produced the most complex patterns among the species examined. The important caveat is that this does not establish that fungi have a human-like language or that scientists know what any particular signal means. The study identified structured electrical activity and proposed that it could carry information through fungal networks. Other researchers have noted that some rhythmic electrical activity could also be related to processes such as nutrient transport or growth. The question of exactly what these signals communicate remains open, making fungal electrical signaling an active area of research.

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