The little brain in the gut - read this if you are attending the webinar
For those of you who have asked to attend my (long awaited) webinar on the mind's influence on the body, please make sure you read this in preparation. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=gut-second-brain even if you've read it before, it will still be good to refresh your memory. You may also want to revisit the videos of my interview with Dr Michael Gershon (father of modern day neurogastroenterology and author of Second brain (the little brain in the gut) which you will see if you scroll down to my older posts. If you would like to be notified of the webinar being announced you are welcome to send me your email address via private message on Facebook (@Crohn's Helper for friends page or @Crohn's Help page). - Joy
Dr. Gershon's research triggered marvelous connections in my thinking about behavioral addictions (overeating, gambling, sex, self-cutting, etc.) I believe the vagus nerve triggers a cascade of miscues between the enteric and central nervous systems. The result is a habitual but unwitting release of endogenous neuropeptides, primarily triggered by emotional distress. Crohn's is a very different phenomenon which I suspects utilizes similar physiological systems but in a different way. If this makes any sense to you, I would appreciate the chance to chat. I am a lay person, but have been looking into these vagal effects for years. If interested in chatting on a subject of mutual interest, I can be contacted at johninnes@bellsouth.net -- Regards, John Innes
ReplyDeleteHello John,
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your post and your interest. You refer to "miscues". Miscues requires judgement as to good and bad, which could lead to a lack of objectivity. I prefer to think of the process as part of a communication system. My fuller response to this would run into several pages, for which at the moment I'm afraid I don't have the time to produce. You are very welcome to post your opinions on how Crohn's "utilizes similar physiological systems". Hopefully your further contribution will stimulate contributions from others. I will be happy to respond to your comments. As you probably know I have my own views interpolated from the symptom responses achieved in the BUDI program.
Best wishes,
Joy