February 02, 2004

• Considered a single entity, it is a network of neurons, neurotransmitters and proteins that zap messages between neurons, support cells like those found in the brain proper and a complex circuitry that enables it to act independently, learn, remember and, as the saying goes, produce gut feelings. Anybody else out there have one of these in their dick? Sorry, a bit rough, but at least consider that you could quite easily make the same argument for those bits.
• I was wondering why the heck this was hosted at a dojo. From the host site: This discovery lends great support to the belief that at the higher levels of martial art training, particularly Aikido, one is able to move and/or defend themselves without conscious thought. *snort* It does nothing of the sort, unless these sloppy-thinking aikidoka plan to defend themselves via projectile vomiting. Wrong autonomous subsystem, y'all! More rigorous description. Less "brain" hype-y description.
• Excellent article, Gyan. I have my dbouts, though. Is there any good indication that the guts can learn and remember? Because it seems that actually the one learning and remembering is the head brain, which it sends instructions through the vagus toward the 'command neurons'. That the gut has 100 million neurons doesn't mean it uses any of them to do other things than felling and interacting with the guts, however complex that interactions may be. The assumption that the gut brain can remember the exact hour for a bowel movement, as in the story of the Army sergeant patients, seems too far fetched. While I would accept better if the article said that it can remember acidic levels of certain chemicals and prepare the stomach to handle them well.
• He, Thanks goetter for the additions. Too much to read tonight.
• Just this weekend I was trying to convince my roomates that this was true. They didn't believe me cuz I often make up stupid shit, but this time i didn't! thanks for the proof!