Enteric Nervous System

I think, therefore … I digest? Let’s explore the enteric nervous system (ENS) a bit more – featuring our microbial passengers.

For centuries, the ability of the intestine to continue their peristaltic motion despite being disconnected from the brain was known, but it was not until the 1990s that unequivocal proof of this was found (in, among others, literal guinea pigs).

The ENS regulates all the major functions of the gut. We rarely notice the signals that it sends to the brain (and when we do, it’s usually not a good sign).

As a major source of activity in the gut, our gut microbiota does a lot of communicating with the ENS through metabolites from digesting food, but also metabolites produced by bacteria. They even affect the amount of serotonin (a neurotransmitter) in the gut and blood!

The microbes even have a hotline to the brain, with cells lining the gut directly connected to the vagus nerve (a nerve that emerges from the brainstem). Given this intimate connection, it’s no wonder that probiotics have been observed to affect both the ENS and central nervous system (CNS).

Captivated or confounded? Stay tuned for the next #gutscience by #SmartHerbals instalment.

#sciencefacts #colonhealth #SmartBiotech

sources: Bischoff, SC. (2011) BMC Medicine 9: 24. Heiss CN, Olofsson LE (2019) Neuroendocrinology e12684. Spencer NJ, Hu H. (2020) Nature Reviews in Gastroenterology and Hepatology 17: 339–351.

Image adapted from Adobe Stock - magicmine