Perceptive Levels in Plants: A Transdisciplinary Challenge in Living Organism’s Plasticity

Abstract

s a minimal 'cognitive' perception of the world by lower organisms possible? The aim of this paper is to evaluate the ability of plant kingdom to treat information without nervous system. On the basis of experimental results on plant bioelectrical potentials and on the analysis of extended cognitive levels defined in the emergent plant neurobiology paradigm, these organisms are considered: (1) as possessing dynamic integrated perceptive systems close to those of animals, (2) as self-organized entities with protoneural abilities and (3) as expressing primitive generic processes which have nonlinearly conducted to complex brain networks. This approach permits a new bottom-up investigation of plastic interfaces, particularly at the level of perceptive and knowledge accumulating systems. Providing the great value of early sensory processing in plants is accepted, the only way to progress would be to read the emergent behaviors of complex informational systems co-creating the world through a transdisciplinary framework.

Learning in Plants: Lessons from Mimosa pudica

“…Why are there so few data driven studies on learning in plants and Mimosa specifically? In contrast to data driven studies we have found many papers concerned with justifying plant learning and intelligence ( Trewavas, 2003 , 2009 ; Cvrčková et al, 2009 ; Affifi, 2013 ; Debono, 2013b ; Guiguet, 2013 ; Marder, 2013 ). For example, Trewavas (2003 , 2009 ) and Cvrčková et al (2009) discuss future directions and definitions of plant learning but do not present data.…”

“…Philosophical speculation is certainly interesting and forms an integral part of behavioral analysis but it cannot replace laboratory work. The work of Marder (2012 , 2013 ) and Debono (2013b) on intentionality, attention, and cognitive perception is certainly thought provoking but is limited because the basic learning data are simply not available. Researchers should also become more familiar with the issues in the psychology of learning, particularly the comparative analysis of learning.…”

Electrome & Cognition Modes in Plants: A Transdisciplinary Approach to the Eco-Sensitiveness of the World

“…If this hypothesis was adopted, added to the sensible vs sensitive nature recently admitted by the scientific community about the sensory system of plants, it would constitute a big step in our classification of the living kingdoms and in the modeling of sensory perception modes [34]. This could help solve the apparent conundrum of cognitive scales disproportionate to the size of the brain of animals like birds (recent works show that the delta observed between the small size of the brains of birds and their high cognitive abilities are probably due to a high density of neurons: see Olkowicz et al 2019) [28] or lemurs having relatively small brains for primates (Fichtel et al, 2020) [29], without mentioning one of the great puzzles of contemporary science, i.e.…”

“…However, if we replace this criterion of intelligence by that of sensitiveness or otherness and even more if we consider the purely introspective side of the mind, the prerogative of plant intelligence no longer holds. A point of equilibrium would be to take into account all of the adaptive sensory modalities implying a perceptual link with the environment and able to generate non-centralized global dynamic receptive or perceptive states (GPS) conducing to non-representational cognitive states (see Debono in TJES 4, 2013) [34]. This state could be linked, not to a form of intelligence per se, but to an unconscious access to experience and to the world of the sensible made possible thanks to the medial plasticity of plants (dynamic coupling with their singular environment).…”

“…This synergetic perceptive apparatus involves cognizing agents directly acting upon the plant sens orium, i.e. the totality of sensory reception and experience involved in such an open exchange between the plant body and its environment [34].…”