distributed-cognition
Distributed cognition is a framework proposing that cognitive processes can extend beyond a single organism's brain to encompass its interactions with the body, environment, and other agents. In plant science, this concept offers a compelling lens for understanding how plants—lacking centralized nervous systems—may process information and coordinate responses through networks of cells, signaling molecules, and root systems. It challenges traditional notions of intelligence and decision-making, prompting researchers to explore how plants sense, integrate, and act on environmental information in a decentralized manner.
open_in_new WikipediaEurope PMC · 2026-06-23
Researchers propose 'plant embodied intelligence' as a framework for understanding how plants solve problems, process information, and make decisions without a brain, using their distributed bodies and environment as the machinery of cognition.
The review defines plant embodied intelligence (PEI) as adaptive problem-solving that emerges from dynamic interactions between distributed plant structures and their environment, not from any central processing organ.
Four core research avenues are identified: adaptive morphogenesis and growth, distributed information processing and memory, ecological communication and swarm-like behavior, and decision-making under risk and competition.
A convergent methodology is proposed combining quantitative phenotyping, molecular systems biology, ecological modeling, and plant-inspired robotics to close critical gaps in the field.