Neurogastroenterology: The Study of Our Second Brain

I have a neurogastroenterology theory - Psychopaths seem to have no "butterflies in the stomach" and no nausea. They have a fascination with bathrooms and bowel movements, and/or GI tract abnormalities. (Apart from a possible neurogastronomy link to being great chefs.)

***It may be impossible to form a conscience if the physical discomfort in our stomach is disconnected from our emotions.

Neurogastroenterology: The Study of Our Second Brain January 1, 2013

Posted by acroanmph in Public Health. 
Tags: Anxiety, Brain/Gut, Diabetes, Diet, Enteric nervous system,Gastrointestinal illness, Health, Neurogastroenterology
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Early in embryogenesis our brains and our gut are formed from the same tissue mass with one half becoming the central nervous system and the other the enteric nervous system, connected by the vagus nerve. Half our nerves are located in our brain, and half in the gut which translates into a lot more than feeling butterflies in our stomach when we’re nervous.

This enteric nervous system is comprised of one hundred million autonomously functioning neurons, neurotransmitters and proteins with the ability to communicate with the central nervous system through the vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system. Coupled with the intestinal microbiome, it’s been coined our “second brain” by Dr. Michael Gershon, professor of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City in 1988. What we put into one brain drastically affects the other.

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