Mushrooms Communicate With Each Other Via Fifty “Words”
In reality, these are not words of course, but “trains of electrical impulses”, which would be exchanged between mycological organisms and which could constitute a form of language. At least that's the theory presented by Andrew Adamatzky, a British computer scientist who heads the Unconventional Computing Laboratory at the University of the West of England, Bristol. It shows that the duration and amplitude of the electrical activity of fungi, specific to each species, could very well constitute a form of communication. Action potential spikes are generally considered key attributes of neurons, and this neural activity is interpreted as the language of the nervous system. But many organisms without a nervous system, including fungi, also produce spikes in electrical potential. In previous research, Adamatzky recorded the electrical potential of oyster mushrooms ( Pleurotus djamor), showing two types of activity: high-frequency (2.6 min period) and low-frequency (for 14 min). Other