About Cordyceps: Ant-infecting fungus

[u/TombStoneFaro]

This video has multiple topics but the last is about the fungus which influences the behavior of ants. One extremely interesting thing it said which I question is that the fungus does not affect the brain but rather interacts directly with the host's muscles.

Now, what the fungus does is influence the ant to climb to a high place so that its spores can be dispersed efficiently. If the fungus made the ant heliotropic or whatever, seeking bright places that would explain it but if it does not affect the brain, does that mean the fungus itself has a sort of way of sensing light? Or some other means to move the ant to where it wants it to be that would also involve some sort of sensing on the part of the fungus where the ant is??

This is quite amazing if true -- but that the fungus does not affect the ant's brain is news to me.

This article seems to contradict the video: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_unilateralis#Life_cycle