Plants have a rich variety of interactions with their environment, including adaptive responses mediated by electrical signaling. This has prompted claims that information processing in plants is similar to that in animals and, hence, that plants are ...

“… plants lack the neural anatomy and all behaviors that would indicate pain. By explaining the ubiquitous and diverse effects of anesthetics, we discuss whether these substances provide any empirical or logical evidence for ‘plant consciousness’ and whether it makes sense to study the effects of anesthetics on plants for this purpose. In both cases, the answer is a resounding no.”