Study
Action potential-like activity found in fungal mycelia is sensitive to stimulation
Olsson, S.; Hansson, B. S.
Naturwissenschaften, 1995
Electrodes were placed in growing fungal mycelium and the voltage recorded continuously, with stimuli applied to one region while activity was measured elsewhere.
- Studied in
- Pleurotus ostreatus, Armillaria
- Sample size
- mycelial cultures with implanted electrodes
The mycelium produced regular voltage fluctuations resembling action potentials, at a rate of roughly half a hertz, and the pattern changed when a distant part of the mycelium was stimulated — including when it was offered a piece of wood.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Fungal mycelia generate propagating electrical activity that responds to stimulation, which may serve a signalling role within the mycelium.
How NatureHQ reads it
The foundational observation, and the one worth separating from what has been built on it. Electrical activity in fungi is real, was recorded three decades ago, and responds to what happens elsewhere in the same organism — genuinely interesting, and entirely consistent with coordination within one body rather than with communication between individuals. Every stronger claim in circulation traces back to recordings of this kind.
- Small numbers of cultures under laboratory conditions.
- Establishes that activity exists and responds, not what it does.
- Electrode implantation is itself a wound, and wounding is one of the things that alters the signal.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Springer journalsPublished in a Springer journal.
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref and OpenAlex on 2026-08-30.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-30.