Author: Evan Fleischer / Source: Big Think
- There is such a thing in neuroscience as a ‘gut feeling.’
- We don’t quite know what it’s saying yet, but we have an idea.
- “Gut signals are transmitted at epithelial-neural synapses through the release of … serotonin.”
Have you ever had a ‘gut feeling?’ That moment when you just knew? Did you ever wonder why that was? Research is starting to make inroads towards an answer.
A recent study led by Melanie Maya Kaelberer of Duke along with a team of others looked at mice to determine how the stomach communicated with the brain. Historically, it was believed that the stomach communicated with the brain indirectly — typically through something called neuropeptide signaling (peptides are like proteins but smaller; neurons use neuropeptides to communicate); however, the results from this study suggest something much more direct, much more nuanced, and a little bit more complicated.
It was found that “gut signals are transmitted at epithelial-neural synapses through the release of … serotonin.”
Let’s break that down — first by quoting the National Institute of Health: “Epithelial cells form barriers that separate different biological compartments in the body.” They have a role in regulating what is communicated…
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