[FRIAM] do animals psychologize?

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Glutamate triggers long-distance, calcium-based plant defense signaling
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6407/1112

> Animals require rapid, long-range molecular signaling networks to integrate sensing and response throughout their bodies. The amino acid glutamate acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate central nervous system, facilitating long-range information exchange via activation of glutamate receptor channels. Similarly, plants sense local signals, such as herbivore attack, and transmit this information throughout the plant body to rapidly activate defense responses in undamaged parts. Here we show that glutamate is a wound signal in plants. Ion channels of the GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR–LIKE family act as sensors that convert this signal into an increase in intracellular calcium ion concentration that propagates to distant organs, where defense responses are then induced.


On 09/17/2018 11:33 AM, Marcus Daniels wrote:
> http://www.sci-news.com/biology/science-mimosa-plants-memory-01695.html
> 
> On 9/17/18, 12:27 PM, "Friam on behalf of Prof David West" <friam-bounces at redfish.com on behalf of profwest at fastmail.fm> wrote:
> 
>     [...]
>     I am watching plants move outside of my window. I doubt the plants are feeling pain, nor are they reacting to/ avoiding pain. True, most people don't eat pines, cedars, and manzanitas, and food plants, e.g. a potato, don't move much. But still, movement, even as an indicator or potential for feeling pain, seems less than useful.

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