https://emsenn.net/tags/distributed-cognition/ Recent content in Distributed-Cognition on emsenn.net Hugo en Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://emsenn.net/library/domains/science/domains/biology/domains/mycology/terms/fungal-intelligence/ Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://emsenn.net/library/domains/science/domains/biology/domains/mycology/terms/fungal-intelligence/ <p>Fungi have no neurons, no brain, and no nervous system. Yet research over the past two decades has documented behaviors in <a href="../concepts/mycelial-networks.md" class="link-internal">mycelial networks</a> that resemble cognitive processes: path optimization, resource allocation, memory, and habituation. Whether these behaviors constitute &ldquo;intelligence&rdquo; depends on one&rsquo;s definition, but the experimental results themselves are well established.</p> <h2 id="network-optimization"><a href="#network-optimization" class="heading-anchor" aria-label="Link to this section">¶</a>Network optimization </h2> <p>The most famous demonstration involves the slime mold <em>Physarum polycephalum</em> — technically a protist, not a fungus, but one that forms mycelium-like networks and is routinely studied alongside fungi for its network behavior.</p>