Gut communicates with the entire brain through cross-talking neurons
Scientists have long assumed sensations from the gut, or anywhere in the body, traveled to the brain along one set of neurons (the sensory neurons), with instructions from the brain traveling back along a separate set of neurons (the motor neurons). But in their mapping study, Illinois researchers discovered some of the neurons—about half—were transmitting both sensory and motor signals.
They were capable of cross-talk within the same neuron.
"From the cortex to the brainstem, in pretty much every region we investigated, there was that 50% overlap of sensory-motor signals. It was throughout the brain, consistently," says study co-author Elizabeth Davis.
