Wandering Nerves

Gut neurons talk to brain neurons all the time, typically via the vagus nerves—there are two of them, a left and a right, although they are often referred to just as the vagus nerve. The word “vagus” means wandering in Latin. Indeed, the vagus nerves wander through the body, from the brainstem to the digestive tract and other body organs. It is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system in the human body. Gut neurons do not have conscious thought as do many of the neurons in your brain. However, they regularly send messages to the brain. Perhaps 90 percent of the messages traveling back and forth go from gut neurons up to brain neurons. Once the messages are in the 'brain in your head,' some of the information is thought to come to conscious awareness. Perhaps together they want to help you identify the reason that butterflies seem to be fluttering around in your stomach.