Scientists Discover That Plants Are Conscious And ‘Learn Like Humans’, Intelligently Adapting To Their Environments

19 December 2016

 - In the past, it had been assumed that the ability to learn was something exclusive to animals. However, new evidence has indicated that this may not be the case. Recent research from the land down under has shown that plants are also capable of learning.

Researchers from the University of Western Australia were determined to see if plants were also capable of “associative learning,” and their findings are quite astonishing. Their experiments with pea seedlings proved that plants can learn and adapt to their environment. In their study, the research team found that the seedlings were able to choose the optimal growth direction for survival by accurately anticipating the occurrence of light after it was removed.

Their findings were recently published in the online journal Scientific Reports. The team was actually inspired by one of the most telling studies in the history of behavioral research – Pavlov’s experiments with dogs, which revealed that behavior could be changed through conditioning.