For decades, we assumed intelligence was a property of the brain, a function of neurons, synapses, and chemical signals firing in sequence. But fungi are forcing science to rethink that assumption.
They have no brains, no central nervous system, and yet they exhibit problem-solving behaviour that rivals animals. Mycelium (the underground network of fungal threads) can navigate mazes, find efficient routes between food sources, and even “learn” from past experiences.
Researchers have shown that fungal networks transmit electrical impulses in patterns that resemble neuronal firing. In 2022, scientists at the University of the West of England recorded distinct “spike trains” in mycelial networks that corresponded to environmental changes. It's suggested this is a kind of fungal language, communicating through charge, ions, and rhythm.
This discovery is more than a curiosity. It challenges the very definition of intelligence, suggesting it may not depend on neurons at all, but on how systems process information and adapt to feedback.
Mycelial Thinking and the Human Brain
If mycelium can sense, store, and respond to information, it means intelligence can emerge from networks, not just brains. This insight is transforming neuroscience.
The human brain itself functions like a biological network: billions of neurons connected by dynamic pathways that strengthen or fade with experience. Just like mycelium, it learns through feedback, pruning weak connections and reinforcing strong ones - a process known as neuroplasticity.
In this sense, fungal networks are a mirror of our own cognition. They embody distributed intelligence, the kind that doesn’t depend on a single centre of control, but on relationships and flow.
This perspective is inspiring new models of artificial intelligence, neural computing, and even mental health therapies that focus on connectivity, not control.
Lessons for Brain Health
At Mushies, we’re fascinated by this parallel between fungal intelligence and human neurobiology, because it’s more than metaphor. Some mushrooms actually support the processes that make the brain flexible, adaptive, and alive.
Take Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus), for example. Its bioactive compounds - hericenones and erinacines - stimulate the production of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), a key molecule for neurogenesis and synaptic repair.
Or Cordyceps, which supports mitochondrial energy, essential for cellular learning and brain resilience.
Even Reishi has been found to protect the brain and modulate the body’s stress response and promote calm focus, the mental soil in which new connections grow.
These aren’t quick fixes or “smart drugs.” They’re natural modulators that help the brain do what mycelium does best: sense, adapt, and evolve.
A New Model of Mind
The study of fungal intelligence invites us to rethink consciousness not as a thing we have, but as a process we participate in. Intelligence may not be confined to the skull, but woven through life itself.
As science continues to map the language of mycelium, we’re learning that the brain is less a command centre and more an ecosystem that thrives when it’s connected, balanced, and alive with communication.
At Mushies, we believe supporting that ecosystem is the key to true mental clarity. 🍄
