%0 Journal Article
%T Thoughts from the forest floor: a review of cognition in the slime mould Physarum polycephalum.
%A Reid CR
%J Anim Cogn
%V 26
%N 6
%D 2023 Nov 11
%M 37166523
%F 2.899
%R 10.1007/s10071-023-01782-1
%X Sensing, communication, navigation, decision-making, memory and learning are key components in a standard cognitive tool-kit that enhance an animal's ability to successfully survive and reproduce. However, these tools are not only useful for, or accessible to, animals-they evolved long ago in simpler organisms using mechanisms which may be either unique or widely conserved across diverse taxa. In this article, I review the recent research that demonstrates these key cognitive abilities in the plasmodial slime mould Physarum polycephalum, which has emerged as a model for non-animal cognition. I discuss the benefits and limitations of comparisons drawn between neural and non-neural systems, and the implications of common mechanisms across wide taxonomic divisions. I conclude by discussing future avenues of research that will draw the most benefit from a closer integration of Physarum and animal cognition research.