From Memory to Decision-Making: How Plants Show Signs of Learning
When we think about learning and intelligence, plants are probably not the first organisms that come to mind.
For a long time, scientists believed that plants were passive organisms, reacting to environmental cues in a predetermined way. However, recent research has revealed that plants are capable of much more than we previously thought, from memory formation to complex decision-making.
Memories Formation in Plants
One of the most surprising discoveries in plant research is that plants can form memories.
In a 2014 study, researchers at the University of Birmingham showed that plants can remember and respond to a stimulus even after the stimulus is removed. The researchers exposed plants to a mild electric shock, and then monitored their response to a subsequent touch. They found that the plants responded more strongly to the touch if it occurred within a certain time window after the electric shock, suggesting that the plants were able to form a memory of the shock.
In a 2016 study, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison exposed Arabidopsis plants to a recurring light-dark cycle, and found that the plants were able to anticipate the onset of darkness even when the cycle was interrupted. The plants…
