Associative Learning in Plants: An Investigation of Mimosa Pudica

Abstract

In 1873 Pfeffer published results of one of the earliest experiments in plant learning, demonstrating that the repeated mechanical stimulation of the leaflets of Mimosa pudica led to a habituation response. In the following century-and-half span, limited research has been done in the area and we still know comparatively little today about the possibilities and intricacies of learning behaviour in plants. The present experimental research was an investigation in said direction, studying the possibility of acquisition of associative learning in plants. The aim was to establish acquisition or non-acquisition of associative learning in Mimosa pudica. A sample of N=40 Mimosa pudica saplings were included in the research design, with 20 specimens each in one control, and one experimental group (nc=20, np=20). A standardised tactile stimulus was administered to the experimental group specimens directly following set duration of exposure to a standardised light source in a delay conditioning arrangement, to induce hiding response in a target leaf for each Mimosa pudica specimen in the experimental group. Intervention trials were carried out for 6 days on the experimental group. On day 7, test administration of the standardised light stimulus was found to induce hiding response in many of the experimental group specimens. No control group specimen showed hiding behaviour in response to administration of the light stimulus.