How Does Nervous System In The Gut Work?

The nervous system in the gut, known as the enteric nervous system (ENS) behaves similar to other neural networks in the brain and spinal cord. A new study led by researchers at Flinders University published in the journal Communications Biology suggests that the ENS in the gut is the 'first brain' and evolved long before the brain as we know it, in humans.

This study reveals major new information about how the many thousands of neurons in the ENS communicate with each other to cause the muscle layers to contract and propel content.

The latest findings are far more complex than expected and different from the mechanisms that cause the propulsion of fluid along with other muscle organs, that have evolved without an intrinsic nervous system; like in lymphatic vessels, ureters, or the portal vein.

"Synchronisation of neuronal activity across large populations of neurons is common in the nervous system of many vertebrate animals," Professor Spencer says.

Researchers were able to record the smooth muscle electrical activity along the length of the colon at the same time as correlating electrical activities with dynamic changes in colonic wall diameter, during propulsion from their laboratory.

This process revealed a key new mechanism that explains how all the different types of neurons in the ENS come together and coordinate the firing to generate propulsion of content along the colon.

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Source-Medindia