The Enteric Nervous System - Your Body's "Second Brain"?

GOOD COMMUNICATION

While the ENS seems to function independently of the brain, these two nerve centers engage in constant communication.  For example, the ENS plays a role in the regulation of hormones that tell the brain when you should eat and how  much you should eat. ENS nerve cells signal the brain when you are full and may possibly trigger nausea if you eat too much. 

Even before reading this article, you may have suspected that there is a communication link between your digestive tract and your brain. Have you  noticed, for instance, that eating some fatty foods seems to improve your mood?  Research suggests that this happens when your ENS sends 'happy signals' to your brain, starting a chain reaction that makes you feel better.  This may explain why people tend to eat so-called food when feeling stressed. Scientists are exploring the possibility of artificially stimulating the ENS as a treatment for depression.

Another example of communication between the brain and the digestive system is what has been described as having butterflies in one' stomach.  This feeling may be the result of the ENS diverting the blood away from the stomach when the brain experiences tension or stress. Nausea can be another result, as during stress the  brain triggers the ENS to change the gut's normal contractions. According to experts, this brain-gut connection might also be the basis or so-called gut instincts.

While the ENS may generate such gut feelings, it cannot think for you or direct your decisions. In other words, the ENS is not really a brain. It cannot help you to compose a song, balance your bank account, or do your homework.   Still, this marvelous system continues to amaze scientists  for its complexity-much of it perhaps still undiscovered. So the next time you are about to eat a meal, pause and think about all the monitoring, data processing, coordination, and communication that is about to take place in your digestive system!

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