How Does the Gut-Brain Connection Work?

As often as we talk about “gut instincts” and “gut feelings,” we shouldn’t be surprised to learn there is a substantial connection between our gut and cognitive and emotional health. 

This connection is called the gut-brain axis. It is a complex system that oversees communication between the gut and the brain to benefit your overall health.

Your gut affects your brain via hormone and neurotransmitter production, impacting mood and behavior. Let’s walk through the brain-gut connection.

The Bridge Between Your Central and Enteric Nervous Systems

Chances are you already know about your first brain. Comprised of around 100 billion neurons and even more glial cells, this is the head of your central nervous system (CNS). The spinal cord is the other half of your CNS.

Your second brain is in the enteric nervous system (ENS). This system is known as the “brain in the gut” due to its 200-600 million neurons. (For reference, the number of nerve cells in the ENS equals the number of nerve cells in the spinal cord.)

The network of neurons in the ENS extends from the esophagus to the rectum and controls the gastrointestinal tract or GI tract. It can do this independently of the CNS, sensing stimuli and responding accordingly, all on its own.

When the ENS and CNS need to communicate, they do so mainly through the vagus nerve. This single nerve starts in the brain stem, extends through the neck and thorax, and ends in the abdomen, making it the body’s longest cranial nerve.

Although the ENS can operate independently of the CNS and vice versa, these two systems typically communicate bi-directionally along the vagus nerve. That means sensory information can be sent from the brain to the gut, and also from the gut back to the brain.

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The Role of Your Microbiome

Your gut is full of trillions of live bacteria and other living organisms, collectively known as the gut microbiome. One important role these gut microbiota play is helping produce neurotransmitters that influence mood and cognitive function. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that the nervous system uses to communicate between neurons. 

For example, a significant portion of the body’s serotonin, a key neurotransmitter involved in regulating mood, appetite, and sleep, is produced in the gut. 

Other neurotransmitters produced in the gut include gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), dopamine, and norepinephrine, all of which play roles in mood and cognitive functions.

Your gut microbes also produce microbial metabolites and other byproducts like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that play a role in the function of your metabolism and immune system.

Here are some other ways healthy gut microbes help us:

• They absorb nutrients and digest food
• They help synthesize vitamins
• They reduce inflammation and promote homeostasis

Effects of an Imbalanced Gut Microbiome

The gut microbiome is a diverse ecosystem of microorganisms that thrives in a delicate balance. When that ecosystem becomes imbalanced, you can end up with microbial dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is linked to a wide range of health conditions, including:

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Crohn’s disease 
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Type 2 diabetes 
• Alzheimer’s disease 
• Parkinson’s disease 
• Autism 
• Cancer 

Gut microbiome health has also been linked to brain function and mental health. Conversely, mental well-being factors, such as psychological stress, can have negative repercussions on gastrointestinal microbiota.

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How to Maintain a Healthy Gut

Fortunately, there are plenty of natural ways to help maintain a healthy gut and even heal an unhealthy gut. Whether you want to prevent gastrointestinal issues or reverse them, here are a few steps you can take to get started:

• Get into a meditation practice: Remember that because of the gut-brain connection, it is equally important to take care of your mental health as it is to take care of your physical health.
• Add psychobiotics to your diet: Psychobiotics are probiotics that positively affect mental health through your gut bacteria. These probiotics can be found in fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and miso. They are also available as supplements.
• Get your exercise: Regular exercise has been shown to positively impact IBS and psychological health.
• Vagus nerve stimulation: The vagus nerve connects the brain to the gut, where it controls the rest and digest response of the nervous system. Massaging behind the ears, gargling, deep breathing exercises, and contrast cold/ hot water therapy have been shown to stimulate the vagus nerve. 

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Neurotransmitter Production in the Gut

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that help regulate numerous bodily functions. Imbalances in neurotransmitter levels have been associated with neurological disorders like depression. 

You’re probably already familiar with some neurotransmitters, like serotonin and dopamine. Serotonin is largely associated with mood and happiness. But did you know that serotonin, dopamine, and several other neurotransmitters are produced in your gut?

Here are some of the major neurotransmitters produced in the gut:

• Serotonin: Regulates behavior, mood, and memory. The gut produces up to 95% of the body’s serotonin. 
• Dopamine: Regulates motor functions, motivation, and emotion. The gut produces about 50% of the body’s dopamine.
• Norepinepherine: Also called noradrenaline. Norepinephrine helps regulate attention, learning, motivation, arousal, and reward. 
• GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid): Inhibits the central nervous system. GABA can help reduce anxiety and produce a calming effect.

Hormone Production in the Gut

Our bodies regulate hormones through our endocrine systems. Hormones impact our growth, sexual function, and mood, as well as help us regulate appetite. Having certain bacteria in our gut microbiota can impact hormone release in the gut.

Some of the hormones influenced by our gut bacteria include:

• Leptin: Responsible for satiety. Leptin helps balance our intake and output of energy. It also impacts appetite and metabolism.
• Ghrelin: Responsible for hunger. Ghrelin stimulates our bodies to eat, store fat, and release human growth hormone.
• Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1): Responsible for insulin secretion. Low levels of GLP-1 may lead to obesity. High levels of GLP-1 may contribute to certain types of hypoglycemia.
• Insulin: Responsible for regulating blood glucose levels. Insulin resistance can lead to obesity and diabetes.

How Mental Health Can Alter Digestion

Mental health disorders and digestive issues often go hand-in-hand. Those dealing with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), for instance, are significantly more likely to experience symptoms of depression or anxiety.

It may seem obvious that dealing with gastrointestinal disorders might lead to stress. However, the relationship goes both ways through what is called bi-directional communication. Poor mental health can also cause gut dysbiosis and a host of related problems. 

Here are some of the digestive symptoms that stress can cause:

• Gas
• Bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Constipation
• Diarrhea

Initially, the body’s stress response is adaptive. The release of cortisol and adrenaline helps us address threats and trauma. This response, however, is intended to be short-term. 

While normally helpful, the stress response becomes unhealthy when stress is frequent or consistent over extended periods (chronic stress).

Chronic stress is a major cause of both mental and physical problems. It is linked to anxiety and depression and disrupts homeostasis, leading to a variety of gastrointestinal disorders. 

In fact, the effects of prolonged stress in the body are connected to 80% of health disorders, including physical, neurological, and psychological.

That’s not all. The neurological pathways activated in response to physical pain overlap heavily with the pathways activated in response to social or emotional pain. This suggests that physical and psychological stress may produce similar physiological responses. 

Perhaps this is a factor in the two-way street between stress and digestive issues. Fortunately, it also means that there may be more treatment options for any one condition than traditionally thought. 

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Can Behavioral Treatment Help With GI Disorders?

Behavioral treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are generally associated with mental health. However, recent research shows that CBT can help reduce symptoms of IBS. In fact, implications for behavioral treatment of gastrointestinal disorders have led to an entirely new field of medicine called behavioral gastroenterology.

Behavioral gastroenterology explores psychological and lifestyle factors that may impact digestive health. Treatment options may include CBT, hypnotherapy, and meditation, as well as dietary and other lifestyle changes.  

Dietary modification plays a major role in treating GI disorders. With dysbiosis so heavily linked to illnesses, following a dysbiosis diet may significantly improve gastrointestinal health. This may include removing foods that contribute to dysbiosis and adding gut-healing foods, probiotics, and prebiotics.

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