Psychology Today
by Dan Hurley
1 Nov 11
…."The gut can work independently of any control by the brain in your head—it's functioning as a second brain," says Michael Gershon, professor and chair of pathology and cell biology at Columbia. "It's another independent center of integrative neural activity."
….the gut's brain—known technically as the enteric nervous system (ENS)….
With an astonishing 100 million neurons—more than in the spinal cord but a lot fewer than in the brain—arrayed over an intricately folded surface area more than a hundred times greater than that of your skin, he has found, the ENS can work all on its own, without any input from the brain, to control the movement and absorption of food throughout the intestines. No other organ can call its own tune without the baton of that conductor who stands on the pedestal above the neck.
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It also sends signals north to the brain that directly affect feelings of sadness or stress, even influence memory, learning, and decision-making. It relies on, and in many cases manufactures, more than 30 neurotransmitters, including serotonin, that are identical to those in the brain.
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"The nervous system actually started out in the gut," says Emeran Mayer, director of the UCLA Center for Neuro-visceral Sciences and Women's Health as well as of the UCLA Center for Neurobiology of Stress. "Most of my patients have a very good understanding that there is a close connection between their emotions and their guts. But there are still very few neuroscientists who understand the complexity of this enteric nervous system and its links to the brain."
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It is only logical that the gut should have a nexus of sensors to gather vital information. After all, like the brain in our head, it is engaged in prolonged contact and interaction with the outside world—in this case, via the food we swallow….
First part of article available at –
http://rsrc.psychologytoday.com/arti...r-backup-brain
Originally Posted by Junior
