THE ABDOMINAL BRAIN/ we have two brains folks! Honestly!

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Yes honestly we do have literally 2 brains!! And now the tummy pains that sooo many of us/children/ suffer from may have another explanation!

Just google in Little Brain/Abdominal Brain................aka Enteric Nervous System! There is a second brain wrapped around our guts, it is made of the same matter and works totally independantly but in conjunction with the cephalic brain, FIRING off adrenaline when we get anxious, anyone ever heard the term 'frightened s**tless'?, scuse language! But that is actually exactly what is happening. Adrenaline is cramping us up! We are just in agony. Many children and adults are diagnosed IBS but trust me folks it aint a lot of the time! Just our second brains getting frightened.............aaah bless.

Anyway I thought it would just interest a few on here! It is always a great talking point as no one seems to have heard of it much!

Check it out folks, no wonder these kids when they are anxious and worried get poorly tummies!

Here is a link for you all to check!
http://www.meridianinstitute.com/abbrain.htm

Interesting eh! Makes sense though!

Okay, that site lost me immediately. Anything that relies on the insight of self-proclaimed "psychic" Edgar Cayce can be safely disregarded in its entirety.

And no, it doesn't make sense. Are you even aware of what a brain is and does, jelibean?

Jelibean, are you talking about the liver? The tanden (tan t'ian)? The abdominal chakra?

I dunno...I guess that brain slipped a bit farther South during my puberty...

I think she is referring to the autonomic nervous system that regulates digestion. It is basically a bundle of nerves that tell your stomach and intestines when to contract in response to food, thus allowing for digestion to occur. If you define a brain as a bundle of nerves that processes information and outputs instructions, then technically there is an independent brain controlling the stomach. However, this brain is located in the spinal column, and doesnt really do any abstract thinking, or have any control over emotional states.

It will shut off due to adrenaline, thus allowing your body to devote more blood and oxygen to more important functions (like running) in dire situations (also known as the sympathetic response). This means that if you have a constantly high adrenaline level (due to high stress) your stomach will not process food correctly, leading to indigestion. However, this 'stomach brain' will not produce adrenaline, or influence your though process directly.

The autonomic nervous system is made up of several interconnected nerve bundles. The one controlling the stomach is referred to as the celiac.

For more information, you can look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomic_Nervous_System

Interestingly, on the subject of indigestion, there is something called celiac disease. Which is an auto-immune disease, with surprisingly no relation to the celiac nerve bundle. you can read all about here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease

It leads to indigestion, diarrhea, nausea, etc. And is cured by ......drum roll....... a gluten free diet. This doesnt have much to do with the discussion of the 'stomach brain', but I thought it would be interesting if you are looking for a reason for digestion issues that are magically cured by a gluten free diet. I should point out that the only study ever done linking autism to celiac disease showed no statistical link between the two. However, the study only tested 34 children, so its not very convincing, especially compared to a large amount of anecdotal evidence.

Also, celiac disease in children can sometimes lead to autism like symptoms. Problems with digestion may lead to malnutrition, resulting in improper development of the brain. This may cause a false diagnosis of autism, and explain why some 'autistic' children seem to get much better when put on a gluten free diet. Seeing how the disease affects about 1% of Americans, even if only 10% (wild guess) of them are misdiagnosed with autism, that is still .1% of the population. Since autism affects roughly .6% of the population, it isnt unreasonable to think that 20% of children diagnosed with autism might be falsely misdiagnosed, and 'cured' of autism via a gluten free diet.

Of course, guessing how many children with autism have celiac disease, or how often celiac disease is misdiagnosed as autism is impractical, due to the limited information. Furthermore, this post is getting too long, and any serious discussion should be its own post as not to derail this thread, which I probably just did.

*puts the post back on the 'stomach brain' rails and backs away.

Sorry folks, just morning here in the UK. Apologies too for being so vague, that will teach me to post last thing at night! Glad I got everyone talking though!

I wonder what you think to the possibility that some of these kids could be suffering from an abdominal epilepsy or abdominal migraine? I wondered because I get the most awful tummy cramps. My children are the same, same pattern every time AND very sleepy for a while too? The cramps, nausea and vomitting sometimes I get are totally incapacitating and usually does me in for at least 8hrs sometimes it takes days to recover fully.

Just a thought though folks, sorry if I confused !

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10630351

I personally am fed up with the ' IBS ' explanation that the doctors give. What are your thoughts peeps!

it isnt unreasonable to think that 20% of children diagnosed with autism might be falsely misdiagnosed, and 'cured' of autism via a gluten free diet.


Really? Autistic symptoms resolved through a gluten free diet? I've never heard of evidence of that, and though I understand the "gut-brain" concept because at least from my experience, stress (and autism) and stomach issues are connected. But people acting like gluten-free is some magical diet that can cause autistic symptoms is just absurd to me... the best thing it does is help resolve gluten-related stomach problems.