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Time-dependent Increase in the Network Response to the Stimulation of Neuronal Cell Cultures on Micro-electrode Arrays
Published on: May 29, 2017
Propagation of electrical spike trains in substrates colonised by oyster fungi
1Unconventional Computing Laboratory at UWE Bristol, Frenchay Campus, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK. andrew.adamatzky@uwe.ac.uk.
Abstract:
We investigate electrical signalling in substrates colonised by oyster fungi using long-term, multi-channel electrophysiological recordings. Electrical activity was recorded continuously for approximately fifteen days using a linear array of eight differential electrode channels sampled at 1 Hz. Slow electrical spikes with durations from tens of seconds to tens of minutes and millivolt-scale amplitudes were identified, and spike trains exhibited highly variable inter-spike intervals on time scales of minutes to hours. Analysis of temporal relationships between channels reveals directional propagation of electrical activity along the electrode array, with delay distributions between adjacent channels showing pronounced positive peaks and a monotonic lead-lag ordering across channels. Median delays of approximately 180 s between channels separated by approximately 2 cm correspond to an estimated propagation speed of about 0.7 cm/min (approximately 40 cm/h). Control analyses using temporally shuffled spike trains indicated its biological origin. These results demonstrate that electrical activity in oyster fungi propagates through the mycelial network as slow travelling signals consistent with ionic wave dynamics.
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