Entropy
November 10, 2022
Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic
40 citations
Cognition is not unique to humans but is a property of all living organisms, from single cells upward. Viewed through an info-computational lens, structures in nature are information and their dynamics are computation from an agent's perspective. Cognition arises from networks of morphological and morphogenetic computations driven by self-assembly, self-organization, and autopoiesis. This article critiques the prevailing human-centric view of cognition, which faces unresolved problems, and reviews recent work on morphological computation, agency, basal cognition, and the free energy principle. It argues that older computational models, based on abstract symbol processing, ignored physical constraints and embodiment. Better understanding cognition is crucial for advancing artificial intelligence, robotics, and medicine.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
April 3, 2022
Andrew Adamatzky, Jordi Vallverdu, Antoni Gandia et al.
4 citations
preprint
Fungi produce patterns of electrical activity that resemble neural signals in animals, including low and high frequency oscillations and spike trains. This neural-like electrical activity is considered a manifestation of fungal intelligence. The paper discusses fungal cognitive capabilities and intelligence from an evolutionary perspective, questioning whether fungi are conscious and what fungal consciousness means given their complex behaviors, sensory abilities, learning, memory, and decision-making. Experimental evidence supports the conclusion that fungi exhibit forms of cognition, intelligence, and consciousness.
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
January 22, 2026
Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic
1 citation
Cognition is not limited to organisms with nervous systems but is an organizational property of all living systems, from single cells to complex animals. Living systems engage in learning, memory, and goal-directed behavior by transforming information embodied in their physical structures and interactions with the environment. This info-computational (ICON) framework views these processes as present from the start of life, becoming more integrated and temporally extended with increasing biological complexity. It explains how complex cognition, awareness, and mind arise from basic life-regulatory dynamics and generates testable implications for basal cognition, developmental biology, and embodied artificial systems.