Scientists Discover Fungi Produce Electrical Patterns That Resemble the Human Language
The ground beneath your feet may be carrying on a kind of conversation. Research into fungal electrical signaling has found that underground networks of fungi generate patterns bearing a striking resemblance to human language — and scientists are still working to figure out what it all means.
Electrical Spikes That Mimic Vocabulary
Professor Andrew Adamatzky at the University of the West of England’s unconventional computing laboratory in Bristol measured electrical activity in fungi by inserting tiny microelectrodes into substrates colonized by their patchwork of hyphae threads, known as mycelia. He analyzed patterns of electrical spikes generated by four species: enoki, split gill, ghost and caterpillar fungi.
The results caught him off guard. His study, published in Royal Society Open Science, revealed that fungi produce clusters of electrical spikes, or “spike trains,” which can be grouped into patterns resembling a vocabulary of up to 50 “words.” The lengths and distribution of these patterns showed similarities to human language.
“We do not know if there is a direct relationship between spiking patterns in fungi and human speech. Possibly not,” Adamatzky said, per The Guardian. “On the other hand, there are many similarities in information processing in living substrates of different classes, families and species. I was just curious to compare.”
What the Signals Could Be Doing
Previous research has suggested that fungi conduct electrical impulses through hyphae — long, thread-like filaments or tubes — in a way similar to how nerve cells transmit information in humans. These electrical signals become more active when the hyphae of wood-decomposing fungi touch wood. That detail suggests fungi might use this signaling to relay information about nutrients or damage across their networks, or even to connected organisms like trees.
Some fungi produce more complex signal patterns than others. Different species may have different “levels” of signaling complexity.
Adamatzky himself remains cautious about drawing conclusions. “There is also another option — they are saying nothing,” he said. “Propagating mycelium tips are electrically charged, and, therefore, when the charged tips pass in a pair of differential electrodes, a spike in the potential difference is recorded.”
Researchers emphasize that the patterns do not mean fungi are consciously communicating. The electrical activity may function as a biological signaling system, coordinating growth and responses across the mycelial network or even with connected plants.
Why the Science Remains Unsettled
A 2025 review in FEMS Microbiology Reviews highlights that while hyphae can generate action potential-like spikes, it’s unclear whether these reflect true communication or simply metabolic activity. Measuring electrical activity in fungi is challenging due to their microscopic, complex structure, and current evidence for information transfer — within a mycelial network or between organisms — is still tentative.
The review calls for more refined methods to uncover whether fungal electrical signaling plays a functional, communicative role. New tools and techniques could reshape the field’s understanding.
The ‘Wood Wide Web’ Factor
Through their mycelial networks, fungi can connect to plant roots, potentially enabling the transfer of nutrients and chemical signals. Ecologists call this the “Wood Wide Web.”
Through these networks, fungi can transfer nutrients like carbon and nitrogen between trees and even send chemical signals that warn plants of pests or stress. While not conscious communication, this hidden system allows plants to share resources and information. Forests may survive and thrive partly because of these interconnected underground communities.
Where the Research Goes From Here
Fungi don’t exactly “talk” like humans, but they do exchange information through electrical and chemical signals, allowing them and the plants they connect with to coordinate growth, share resources and respond to threats. The research sits at an early stage where the questions outnumber the answers.
As measurement techniques improve and more species are studied, what scientists learn about fungal signaling could change how we understand biological intelligence across the natural world. For anyone tracking the edges of science, fungal communication research is a space to keep watching.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
