How much can we know about the mysteries of the human body? The organ of the human body that best understands the source of emotions is hidden in the stomach. (Provided by “Unsolved Mysteries”)
Hello everyone, I’m Fuyao, welcome to explore the unsolved mysteries with me.
Taoism has always stated that “the human body is a small universe”. However, the depth of the mystery of this “small universe” is a long and endless process of exploration in modern scientific research.
In recent years, for example, an increasingly talked about topic in medical and nutritional circles is that the “gut” is the “second brain” of the human body.
Over the past decades, scientists have studied the relationship between the gut microbial community, gut flora, and the nervous system (this research is also known as “gut-brain axis research”), discovering methods of communication between the gut and the nervous system. the central nervous system and their mutual influence.
This includes: the impact of gut microbes on health, particularly the immune system; and the interaction between gut microbes and the nervous system. For example, gut microbes communicate with the nervous system in various ways, including neurotransmitters, activating the immune system, and producing metabolites.
The origin of the “gut” called the “second brain”
From an anatomical analysis, it is not difficult to see that the brain has the highest density of neurons, especially in the cortical area, which is the main area that processes perception, thought and movement. The number of neurons is very high. The spinal cord, the key channel that connects the brain to other parts of the body, also contains a large number of neurons, responsible for transmitting instructions from the brain and receiving sensory information.
Furthermore, in the human body there is another place with a very high density of neurons, namely the “gut”. The number of nerve cells in the gut is second only to that of the brain. Scientific research has found that the intestine is the only internal organ in the human body that can function independently without being controlled by the brain. The intestinal wall is covered with numerous neurons.
Interestingly, these neurons form the autonomic nervous system, which scientists describe as an independent “brain”: it is a branch of the central nervous system responsible for gastrointestinal activities and capable of autonomously managing the human digestive system. This is one of the reasons why the “gut” is called the “second brain” of the human body.
In fact, since ancient times, it was believed that the gut interacts with the brain to influence health or bring about disease. But it wasn’t until the last century that scientists began to look more closely at the connection between the two.
The first was an American doctor, Byron Robinson, who published the book “The Abdominal and Pelvic Brain” in 1907; around the same time, in 1921, the British physiologist Scientist Dr. Johannis Langley discovered the nerve plexus in the intestine and coined the term “enteric nervous system”.
At that time, scientists began to clearly understand that the enteric nervous system could function autonomously; even though its main connection to the brain, the vagus nerve, was severed, it could still regulate the digestive process.
Despite these important discoveries, academic interest in the “brain in the gut” waned until the 1990s, when a field called neurogastroenterology emerged.
Michael Gershon, chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Columbia University, picked up this topic in 1996 and introduced the concept of a “second brain” in the stomach.
Although the digestive system and the brain have many similarities, they also have many differences. The brain has cognitive functions, learning and memory, advanced neural activities, and emotional regulation functions that the digestive system does not have. Therefore, some scientists believe that it is incorrect to say that the intestine and stomach are the “second brain”.
Let’s not talk about the name for now, let’s first look at what this independently operating “second brain” does.
What is the independent “second brain” doing?
In his extensive research into neurogastroenterology, an emerging discipline at the time, scientist Gerson discovered that this guy called the “second brain” is actually a general term for the gastrointestinal nervous system, which has about a hundred million responsible nerve cells. of the human digestive system.
Gerson described this “second brain” as a kind of library that stores the body’s responses to all mental processes and can recall these messages when necessary and transmit them to the brain. Monitors gastric activity and digestive processes.
He also discovered that this “second brain” can observe the characteristics of foods, regulate the speed of digestion, speed up or slow down the secretion of digestive juices, etc. Its operating process adopts the same complex feedback method as the brain that controls the limbs, but is completely independent of the brain.
We now know that the enteric nervous system not only functions autonomously but also influences the brain. In fact, about 90% of the signals transmitted by the vagus nerve do not come from the “higher brain”, but from the “second brain”, the enteric nervous system.
The intestine also performs many functions for human health and is the largest “sewage treatment plant, gas station and immune organ” of the human body.
Have you noticed that when people are in a bad mood or feel stressed, some crave high-calorie foods, especially sweets. This correlation between emotion and appetite shows that research has found that it is largely emotions that cause gut flora imbalance and changes in gut flora composition, leading to changes in food choices.
So when you choose to eat a certain food, it may not be that you need or want to eat it, but the flora sends a wrong signal to the brain and the brain controls you to make you eat that food.
The intestine is the largest endocrine organ in the human body. Dozens of hormones secreted by the gastrointestinal tract are widely distributed on the wall of the gastrointestinal tract and participate in the regulation of various functions. The hormones dopamine and serotonin are closely related to sensation.
Dopamine is a key substance that influences people’s mood. Depression, world-weariness, loss of interest in things, and lack of energy are mostly symptoms of low levels of dopamine in the body. Serotonin can make people feel happy: When there is not enough serotonin in the body, people become irritable and lose their minds easily.
Research data shows that the brain secretes only 5% of serotonin into the body, while 95% of serotonin is synthesized in the gut.
The gut digestive system has such a huge impact on people’s mental health, it’s no wonder some scientists call it the “second brain.”
The “second brain” can also experience depression and sadness
From the above it is not difficult to see that human emotions are closely linked to the gut, this “second brain”. No wonder people say that the place where the human body understands emotions best is not the brain, but hidden in the stomach. Do you believe?
The ancient Chinese recorded this in the “Nei Jing,” “Anger is bad for the liver, joy is bad for the heart, thinking is bad for the spleen, sadness is bad for the lungs, and fear is bad for the kidneys.” In other words, people’s various negative emotions will directly affect different organs of the human body, and the generation of these negative emotions is related to the “second brain”. There is a certain corresponding relationship between human emotions and organs of the human body, and injuries in one organ will also affect other organs.
Modern Western scientific research has slowly made the connection. Especially in the process of studying the intestinal system, scientists have found that this “second brain” can actually influence people’s various emotions such as joy, anger, grief and joy.
The “second brain” not only has memory function, but also has emotional responses like the brain. Furthermore, they are interconnected with the brain: if one goes wrong, the other will also be affected. For example, worry, depression, irritability, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcers, and Parkinson’s disease can also manifest in the brain and digestive system. Doctors have found that 25% of patients taking antidepressants suffer from stomach pain; Stress can in turn stimulate the nerves of the esophagus, causing a feeling of choking, among other symptoms.
Scientists have found that people who experienced life-and-death pains while growing up are more likely to suffer from gastrointestinal diseases than the average person when they grow up. For example, Gerson once found that approximately 70% of patients with chronic gastrointestinal disease experienced bereavements such as parental divorce, chronic illness, or the death of a parent while growing up.
Furthermore, the “second brain” can also dream. When a person sleeps dreamlessly, the gastrointestinal organs perform gentle, rhythmic wave-like movements; but when he dreams, the internal organs begin to tremble violently. People often have nightmares if they don’t eat well, and many patients with gastrointestinal disorders always complain of not being able to sleep well.
Scientists are currently using “second brain” and biofeedback therapy to allow patients to rely on the brain’s mental function to strengthen their gastrointestinal functions and achieve remarkable results.
It seems that if an organ in the human body is not working, removing it will solve the problem; problems with one organ will also affect other organs; problems with one organ can also be caused by problems with other organs.
It is also very important to protect your “second brain”
As scientists conduct extensive research on the interaction between the intestinal tract and the nervous system, people have a deeper understanding of the connections between different systems in the human body. Various tissues and systems of the human body are interconnected, influence each other, cooperate closely and can function independently. The human body is truly mysterious, isn’t it?
I believe that by understanding why the gut is called the “second brain” of man, we also understand that it is very important to eat well, eat healthily and protect your gut system. At the same time, learning to regulate our emotions and maintain a peaceful and calm mind is also an important means of maintaining gut health.
From this we also saw that, no matter how advanced modern science is, it can only conduct research on our current body in surface material space. There are still too many mysteries of the human body waiting to be explored by scientists and medical researchers.
It seems that the Taoist statement that “the human body is a small universe” is not mysterious.
Ok, that’s all for today’s story. In “Unsolved Mysteries” my name is Fuyao. Until next time.
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Responsible editor: Li Mei#
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