Broadening the definition of a nervous system to better understand the evolution of plants and animals

Miguel-Tomé, Sergio; Llinás, Rodolfó R.

doi:10.1080/15592324.2021.1927562

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 209 publications

(303 reference statements)

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“…Neural-like properties: Plants lack neurons. Nevertheless, growing research highlights related molecular-level functional similarities between animal and plant substrates (Baluška and Levin, 2016;Miguel-Tomé and Llinás, 2021). One example is the fact that plants possess neurotransmitters [acetylcholine, glutamate, dopamine, histamine, noradrenaline, serotonin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)], some of which appear to play roles analogous to those in animals (Baluška and Mancuso, 2009a;Baluška, 2010).…”

Section: Existing Plant-inspired Robots and The Nature Of Plant Intelligencementioning

confidence: 99%

Enacting Plant-Inspired Robotics

Lee

Calvo

2022

Front. Neurorobot.

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Plants offer a source of bioinspiration for soft robotics. Nevertheless, a gap remains in designing robots based on the fundamental principles of plant intelligence, rooted in a non-centralized, modular architecture and a highly plastic phenotype. We contend that a holistic approach to plant bioinspiration—one that draws more fully on the features of plant intelligence and behavior—evidences the value of an enactivist perspective. This is because enactivism emphasizes not only features of embodiment such as material composition and morphology, but also autonomy as an important aspect of plant intelligence and behavior. The enactivist sense of autonomy concerns the dynamics of self-producing systems (such as plants) that create a distinction between themselves and a domain of interactions that bear on the conditions of viability of the system. This contrasts with the widespread, but diluted notion of autonomy that merely indicates the independent operability of a system for an arbitrary period. Different notions of autonomy are relevant for soft roboticists, for instance, when evaluating limitations on existing growing robots (“growbots”) that take bioinspiration from plants, but depend on a fixed source of energy and material provided by an external agent. More generally, plant-inspired robots serve as a case study for an enactivist approach to intelligence, while, correspondingly, enactivism calls attention to the possibility of non-zoological forms of intelligence embodied in a self-organizing, autonomous system.

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Section: Existing Plant-inspired Robots and The Nature Of Plant Intelligencementioning

confidence: 99%

Enacting Plant-Inspired Robotics

Lee

Calvo

2022

Front. Neurorobot.

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“…In response, critics argue that the speed, efficiency, and complexity of these signaling networks do not match those found in the brain, and they further argue that plant cell connectivity more resembles the outdated reticular theory than a system based on synaptic transmission . Proponents counter that these critics operate with a myopic view of what a nervous system is (Miguel-Tomé & Llinás, 2021).…”

Section: What Might Hypothesizing About Cognition Uncover?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Why studying plant cognition is valuable, even if plants aren’t cognitive

Colaço

2022

Synthese

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Philosophers and scientists propose the idea that plants are cognitive, which has been met with criticisms. These criticisms focus on the fact that plants do not possess the properties traditionally associated with cognition. By contrast, several proponents introduce novel ways to conceptualize cognition. How should we make sense of this debate? In this paper, I argue that the plant cognition debate is not about whether plants meet a set of well-delineated and agreed-upon criteria according to which they count as cognitive. Rather, many proponents are hypothesizing about cognition. They construe COGNITION not as an expression of what cognition is, but rather as a conjecture about what cognition might be. These conjectures orient research that can uncover novel similarities amongst the phenomena to which these concepts extend. In defending this view, I argue that investigating plant cognition is valuable, even if the results of these investigations lead us to reject the claim that plants are cognitive.

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“…19 , 21 This field of research has benefited from a strong resurgence of interest over the last 15 years, some authors now propose a broadened definition of nervous system to better understand the evolution of plants and animals. 44 …”

Section: Homologies Between Plants and Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This position is perfectly harmless if used as a metaphor, but if cognitive descriptions are true, then it is not harmless. 74 , 107 , 108 Concepts related to plant neurobiology should lead us to fruitfully reconsider the evolutionary origin of “neurosystems” 44 and view recent specializations of the animal nervous system as emerging from ancient and fundamental processes of communication and cell survival. This consideration of deep homologies could also allow and encourage us to reconsider the bonds of kinship.…”

Section: Recent Discoveries In “Plant Neurobiology” and “Plant Intell...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Our sisters the plants? notes from phylogenetics and botany on plant kinship blindness

Bouteau

Grésillon

Chartier

et al. 2021

Plant Signaling & Behavior

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Before the upheaval brought about by phylogenetic classification, classical taxonomy separated living beings into two distinct kingdoms, animals and plants. Rooted in ‘naturalist’ cosmology, Western science has built its theoretical apparatus on this dichotomy mostly based on ancient Aristotelian ideas. Nowadays, despite the adoption of the Darwinian paradigm that unifies living organisms as a kinship, the concept of the “scale of beings” continues to structure our analysis and understanding of living species. Our aim is to combine developments in phylogeny, recent advances in biology, and renewed interest in plant agency to craft an interdisciplinary stance on the living realm. The lines at the origin of plant or animal have a common evolutionary history dating back to about 3.9 Ga, separating only 1.6 Ga ago. From a phylogenetic perspective of living species history, plants and animals belong to sister groups. With recent data related to the field of Plant Neurobiology, our aim is to discuss some socio-cultural obstacles, mainly in Western naturalist epistemology, that have prevented the integration of living organisms as relatives, while suggesting a few avenues inspired by practices principally from other ontologies that could help overcome these obstacles and build bridges between different ways of connecting to life.

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Broadening the definition of a nervous system to better understand the evolution of plants and animals

Cited by 22 publications

References 209 publications

Enacting Plant-Inspired Robotics

Enacting Plant-Inspired Robotics

Why studying plant cognition is valuable, even if plants aren’t cognitive

Our sisters the plants? notes from phylogenetics and botany on plant kinship blindness

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