RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Emergence of behavior in a self-organized living matter network
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.09.06.285080
DO 10.1101/2020.09.06.285080
A1 Philipp Fleig
A1 Mirna Kramar
A1 Michael Wilczek
A1 Karen Alim
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/08/2020.09.06.285080.abstract
AB What is the origin of behavior? Although typically associated with a nervous system, simple life forms also show complex behavior – thus serving as a model to study how behaviors emerge. Among them, the slime mold Physarum polycephalum, growing as a single giant cell, is renowned for its sophisticated behavior. Here, we show how locomotion and morphological adaptation behavior emerge from self-organized patterns of rhythmic contractions of the actomyosin lining of the tubes making up the network-shaped organism. We quantify the spatio-temporal contraction dynamics by decomposing experimentally recorded contraction patterns into spatial contraction modes. Surprisingly, we find a continuous spectrum of modes, as opposed to few dominant modes. Over time, activation of modes along this continuous spectrum is highly dynamic, resulting in contraction patterns of varying regularity. We show that regular patterns are associated with stereotyped behavior by triggering a behavioral response with a food stimulus. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the continuous spectrum of modes and the existence of irregular contraction patterns persist in specimens with a morphology as simple as a single tube. Our data suggests that the continuous spectrum of modes allows for dynamic transitions between a plethora of specific behaviors with transitions marked by highly irregular contraction states. By mapping specific behaviors to states of active contractions, we provide the basis to understand behavior’s complexity as a function of biomechanical dynamics. This perspective will likely stimulate bio-inspired design of soft robots with a similarly rich behavioral repertoire as P. polycephalum.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.