The research published in the journal Trends in Plant Science, found trees, and all plants for that matter, feel nothing at all, because consciousness, emotions and cognition are hallmarks of animals alone.
MINDY WEISBERGER: ‘A tree falls in the woods; but whether or not anyone hears it, the tree has no regrets. Nor does it experience fear, anger, relief or sadness as it topples to the ground. Trees — and all plants, for that matter — feel nothing at all, because consciousness, emotions and cognition are hallmarks of animals alone, scientists recently reported in an opinion article… The findings were published online July 3 in the journal Trends in Plant Science…
Beginning in 2006, some scientists have argued that plants possess neuron-like cells that interact with hormones and neurotransmitters, forming “a plant nervous system, analogous to that in animals,” said lead study author Lincoln Taiz, a professor emeritus of molecular, cell and developmental biology at the University of California Santa Cruz. “They even claimed that plants have ‘brain-like command centers’ at their root tips,” Taiz told Live Science in an email.
This perspective makes sense if you simplify the workings of a complex brain, reducing it to an array of electrical pulses; cells in plants also communicate through electrical signals, according to the article. However, the signaling in a plant is only superficially similar to the billions of synapses firing in a complex animal brain, which is more than “a mass of cells that communicate by electricity,” Taiz said.
“For consciousness to evolve, a brain with a threshold level of complexity and capacity is required,” he added. Other researchers who recently investigated the neuroscience of consciousness — awareness of one’s world and a sense of self — found that in animals, only vertebrates, arthropods and cephalopods had brains complex enough to enable them to be conscious.
“If the lower animals — which have nervous systems — lack consciousness, the chances that plants without nervous systems have consciousness are effectively nil,” Taiz said. And what’s so great about consciousness, anyway? Plants can’t run away from danger, so investing energy in a body system that recognizes a threat and can feel pain would be a very poor evolutionary strategy, according to the article’. SOURCE…
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