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COMPLEX AND HIDDEN BRAIN IN GUT PRODUCES BUTTERFLIES AND VALIUM
 
New York Times, January 23, 1996; Science Section C-1, C-3
 
by Sandra Blakeslee
 
captions to large illustration at beginning of article:
 
Gut-Brain Highway:  A 2-Way Street:  The gut has a mind of its own,
the enteric nervous system.  Just like the larger brain in the head,
researchers say, this system sends and receives impulses, records
experiences and responds to emotions.  Its nerve cells are bathed and
influenced by the same neurotransmitters.  The gut can upset the brain
just as the brain can upset the gut.
 
The "brain in the gut" takes the form of two networks of neural
connections in the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, called the
myenteric plexus.  The nerves are highly interconnected and have direct
influence on things like the speed of digestion, the movement and
secretions of the fingerlike mucosa(cilia) that line the intestines and the
contractions of the different kinds of muscle in the gut wall.
 
Body of article:
 
        Ever wonder why people get "butterflies" in the stomach before
going on  stage?  Or why an impending job interview can cause an
attack of intestinal cramps?  And why antidepressants targeted for the
brain cause nausea or abdominal upset in millions of people who take
such drugs?
        The reason for these common experiences, scientists say, is that
the body has two brains--the familiar one encased in the skull and a
lesser known but vitally important one found in the human gut.  Like
Siamese twins, the two brains are interconnected; when one gets upset,
the other does, too.
 
(The article is approximately 7 times longer than this post.  If you are
interested in receiving the rest, email me privately and I will be glad to
foward the rest to you.  I didn't want to burden the list with this article
since it is rather long.  I had quite a bit of trouble tracking it down,
living in a rural area such as I do--but I am glad I did.  And I thought it
might be interesting to others, so I took the time to key it in myself.)
 
 
lw <[log in to unmask]>       Don't talk unless you can improve the silence
                                        --Laurence Coughlin