Food Fat and Zombies

Imagine that Zombies can exist - bacteria controlling human consciousness is a possibility? According to researchers, bacteria in our stomach play a very important role in our learning, fear, and anxiety. Although, it might not be in ways that you imagine, our gut contains millions and trillions of bacteria that indirectly influence what we want to eat and our serotonin levels which in turn affects happiness and depression. This amazing system called the enteric nervous system [ENS].

The ENS consists of the million neural pathways that line the gut. The million neural pathways facilitate the complex digestive process. In fact, the gut is the only organ that can operate on its own, independent of the central nervous system [CNS]. As a result of the many similar structural and chemical features between the ENS and the CNS, when something happens to one, it also affects the other. For example, scientists have found that the reason why people that take selective serotonin reputake inhibitors [SSRI] develop Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This is because serotonin, the neurotransmitter associated with depression, also plays a vital role in digestion. Consequently, by messing with one system, it may affect the other. Scientist hope that in the future they can better improve treatments by targeting both systems.

This constant communication also means that the ENS could also affect some everyday actions such as eating. Recent studies show that our tendency to eat fatty food in times of stress is also partially controlled by the ENS. During times of psychological distress, the gut releases a hormone called ghrelin, which stimulates hunger and makes us crave fattier food.

In a more extreme case, it has been shown that during infancy the ENS could also play a role in shaping the amygdala, the fear center in the brain and the hippocampus, the memory center in the brain. In germ free mice, memory dysfunction has been observed due to the malfunction of a molecule that plays a vital role in memory. The absence of the bacteria in germ free mice has also been shown to alter the production and synthesis of neurotransmitters. This problem was solved after the mice acquired the species specific bacteria.

Although, the ENS does not write poetry or solve complex everyday problems, it plays a vital role in our everyday life. A better understanding of the ENS holds the secret to treating neurological disorders and maybe even the ability to influence cognitive development.