Human evolution: your gut has a big brain (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, October 01, 2021, 23:41 (1147 days ago) @ David Turell

More information:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-10-revealing-logic-body-brain.html

"the enteric nervous system is remarkably independent. Intestines could carry out many of their regular duties even if they somehow became disconnected from the central nervous system. And the number of specialized nervous system cells, namely neurons and glia, that live in a person's gut is roughly equivalent to the number.

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"Neurons are the more familiar cell type, famously conducting the nervous system's electrical signals. Glia, on the other hand, are not electrically active, which has made it more challenging for researchers to decipher what these cells do. One of the leading theories was that glial cells provide passive support for neurons.

"Gulbransen and his team have now shown that glial cells play a much more active role in the enteric nervous system. In research published online on Oct. 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers revealed that glia act in a very precise way to influence the signals carried by neuronal circuits. This discovery could help pave the way for new treatments for intestinal illness that affects as much as 15% of the U.S. population.

"'Thinking of this second brain as a computer, the glia are the chips working in the periphery," Gulbransen said. "They're an active part of the signaling network, but not like neurons. The glia are modulating or modifying the signal."

"In computing language, the glia would be the logic gates. Or, for a more musical metaphor, the glia aren't carrying the notes played on an electric guitar, they're the pedals and amplifiers modulating the tone and volume of those notes.

"Regardless of the analogy, the glia are more integral to making sure things are running smoothly—or sounding good—than scientists previously understood. This work creates a more complete, albeit more complicated picture of how the enteric nervous system works. This also creates new opportunities to potentially treat gut disorders."

Comment: We eat, we defecate, all without having to think about it. The proper nutrients are absorbed. This developed in evolution without interspecies or intraspecies conflict, which Darwinism favors as causing evolution. Why is it there? By design.