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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 17, 2026

Assessing Spatial Learning and Memory in Small Squamate Reptiles
08:44

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Published on: January 3, 2017

Slime mold uses an externalized spatial "memory" to navigate in complex environments.

Chris R Reid1, Tanya Latty, Audrey Dussutour

  • 1Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, and Centre for Mathematical Biology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. christopher.reid@sydney.edu.au

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|October 10, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The brainless slime mold Physarum polycephalum exhibits spatial memory by avoiding explored areas. This non-neuronal memory aids navigation, demonstrating an externalized precursor to internal memory in complex environments.

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cellular Biology
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Spatial memory is crucial for navigation in many organisms.
  • Traditionally, memory is associated with the presence of a brain.
  • The capacity for memory in brainless organisms remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the presence and function of spatial memory in the brainless slime mold, Physarum polycephalum.
  • To determine if spatial memory aids in complex navigation tasks.
  • To explore the potential evolutionary precursor of internal memory.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing the U-shaped trap problem, a standard robotics navigation challenge.
  • Observing Physarum polycephalum's behavior when navigating towards a chemoattractant within the trap.
  • Analyzing the slime mold's avoidance of previously explored areas.

Main Results:

  • Physarum polycephalum successfully navigated the U-shaped trap to reach the chemoattractant.
  • The slime mold demonstrated avoidance of previously explored regions, indicating spatial memory.
  • Spatial memory significantly improved navigation efficiency in this complex environment.

Conclusions:

  • The brainless slime mold Physarum polycephalum possesses a functional spatial memory system.
  • This non-neuronal spatial memory enhances navigational capabilities in challenging environments.
  • Externalized spatial memory in organisms like slime molds may represent an evolutionary precursor to internal memory.