Biology of the Physarum polycephalum Plasmodium: Preliminaries for Unconventional Computing

Abstract

Slime mould Physarum polycephalum is a macroscopic amoeba-like organism whose ability to `compute' the solutions to complex problems ranging from logic to computational geometry has led to its extensive use as an unconventional computing substrate. In slime mould computing devices—`Physarum machines'—data may be imparted to the organism via stimulation with chemical, optical, mechanical or electrical sources and outputs are generally behavioural, chemical or/and electrical. This chapter examines the biological basis of a slime mould's ability to perceive and act upon input data and the mechanisms that contribute towards the output we interpret as computation. Furthermore, various research methods for slime mould cultivation, electrophysiological measurement and hybridisation with exogenous substances are discussed. The data presented here provides an essential foundation for the computer scientist wishing to fabricate their own Physarum machines.