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Food for thought
The Brain-Gut Connection
Although your brain is the control center for all bodily functions, when it comes to emotions such as nerves, stress, anxiety or depression, your second brain might also have a hand in how you’re feeling.
That’s right: The “second brain,” or the enteric nervous system (ENS), which governs digestion, has much to do with the way you handle distressing emotions.
The ENS—which is made up of 200 to 600 million nerve cells—takes care of the day-to-day activities of digestion independently of the central nervous system and lets us know when we’re hungry, or too full, or when something we’ve eaten doesn’t agree with us. The ENS works alongside the complex ecosystem of microbes in the gut — collectively known as the intestinal microbiota—that reside in close proximity to the ENS. It is believed that interactions between the ENS and the intestinal microbiota may result in communication between our brain and gut.
Recent research suggests that gut microbes may affect our mood and behaviors, suggesting that the ENS may be even more like a brain than was previously believed. It has been shown that the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin—which is known to regulate anxiety, happiness and mood—can be influenced by an organism’s intestinal microbiota. Even more interesting: The intestinal microbiota can directly produce neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that transmit signals between synapses in your brain and nervous system. What effect these intestinally produced neurotransmitters might have is a question researchers are just beginning to explore.
“Neurotransmitters are essential for communication between the brain and the gut, and they can be produced by the intestinal microbiota,” Dr. Carroll says.
Full Article:
https://healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/the-connection-between-your-brain-and-your-gut/
The Brain-Gut Connection
Although your brain is the control center for all bodily functions, when it comes to emotions such as nerves, stress, anxiety or depression, your second brain might also have a hand in how you’re feeling.
That’s right: The “second brain,” or the enteric nervous system (ENS), which governs digestion, has much to do with the way you handle distressing emotions.
The ENS—which is made up of 200 to 600 million nerve cells—takes care of the day-to-day activities of digestion independently of the central nervous system and lets us know when we’re hungry, or too full, or when something we’ve eaten doesn’t agree with us. The ENS works alongside the complex ecosystem of microbes in the gut — collectively known as the intestinal microbiota—that reside in close proximity to the ENS. It is believed that interactions between the ENS and the intestinal microbiota may result in communication between our brain and gut.
Recent research suggests that gut microbes may affect our mood and behaviors, suggesting that the ENS may be even more like a brain than was previously believed. It has been shown that the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin—which is known to regulate anxiety, happiness and mood—can be influenced by an organism’s intestinal microbiota. Even more interesting: The intestinal microbiota can directly produce neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that transmit signals between synapses in your brain and nervous system. What effect these intestinally produced neurotransmitters might have is a question researchers are just beginning to explore.
“Neurotransmitters are essential for communication between the brain and the gut, and they can be produced by the intestinal microbiota,” Dr. Carroll says.
Full Article:
https://healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/the-connection-between-your-brain-and-your-gut/
