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Date: | Mon, 6 Nov 2000 09:08:23 -0500 |
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This from today's http://www.forteantimes.com/http://www.forteantimes.com/
Scientists discover 'second brain'
in the stomach
Scientists are claiming to have discovered a second
brain - in the human stomach.
The breakthrough, involving experts in the US and
Germany, is believed to play a major part in the way
people behave.
This 'second brain' is made up of a knot of brain nerves
in the digestive tract. It is thought to involve around 100
billion nerve cells - more than held in the spinal cord.
Researchers believe this belly brain may save
information on physical reactions to mental processes
and give out signals to influence later decisions. It may
also be responsible in the creation of reactions such as
joy or sadness.
The research is outlined in the latest issue of German
science magazine, Geo, in which Professor Wolfgang
Prinz, of the Max Planck Institute for Psychological
Research in Munich, says the discovery could give a
new twist on the old phrase "gut reaction".
He said: "People often follow their gut reactions without
even knowing why, its only later that they come up with
the logical reason for acting the way they did. But we
now believe that there is a lot more to gut feelings than
was previously believed."
Professor Prinz thinks the stomach network may be the
source for unconscious decisions which the main brain
later claims as conscious decisions of its own.
The second brain was rediscovered by Michael
Gershorn, of the University of Colombia in New York,
after it was forgotten by science. He says it was first
documented by a 19th century German neurologist,
Leopold Auerbach.
He discovered two layers of nerve cells near a piece of
intestine he was dissecting. After putting them under
the microscope he found they were part of a complex
network.
Recent research has already raised the idea that many
reactions may be made in the stomach. Benjamin
Libet, of the University of California found the brains of
volunteers asked to raise their arms only registered
activity about half a second after the movement had
been made. He believes his work implies another part
of the body may have been involved in making the
decision.
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