Seeing through an ant's eyes: do entomopathogenic fungi extend their cognition to their hosts?

Parise, A. G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2500-6455, Tibbett, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0143-2190 and Pickles, B. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9809-6455 (2025) Seeing through an ant's eyes: do entomopathogenic fungi extend their cognition to their hosts? Topics in Cognitive Science. ISSN 1756-8765 doi: 10.1111/tops.70032

Abstract/Summary

Post-cognitivist approaches recognize cognition as a phenomenon that involves not just brains but all the sensorimotor apparatus of organisms. This means that brains are not always required for the emergence of cognition and that every organism can, in principle, be cognitive, unlocking a theoretical framework to explain the complex adaptive behavior of even non-neural organisms. This construct blurs the boundaries of cognitive processes, leading to what is known as the Extended Cognition thesis, where objects in the environment could become integral parts of an individual's cognitive system. Here, we explore the possibility that some species of entomopathogenic fungi in the families Cordycipitaceae, Ophiocordycipitaceae, and Clavicipitaceae could extend their cognition to the insects and other arthropods they infect. In this parasitism, the fungus takes possession of the sensorimotor apparatus of its host and coerces it to find the best places for fungal dispersal. We examine case studies where Ophiocordyceps spp. fungi induce ants to seek bright places in the forest. In this case, the fungus may be using the ant's sensorial and motoric apparatus to locate the places appropriate for its reproduction. This could be a remarkable example of extended cognition of a non-neural organism through a neural organism. However, empirical testing using a solid demarcating criterion is required to confirm this hypothesis.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/127964
Identification Number/DOI	10.1111/tops.70032
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Soil Research Centre Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Sustainable Land Management > Centre for Agri-environmental Research (CAER)
Publisher	Wiley
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