Probably, mammals were able to survive and adapt to life precisely due to the presence of the "intestinal nervous system", writes the portal Live Science.
It turns out that our intestines are not as stupid as they seem. In a study published on a science portal, a group of scientists from Australia argues that this body can "build" its own behavior. And at the same time, he does not receive any commands from our main, brain, brain.
“The intestinal nervous system contains millions of neurons. It is they who are responsible for how the intestines behave and how it processes information coming from other organs,”the portal quotes excerpts from the published study.
The experts used mice as test subjects. The rodents were stimulated by electrical impulses to work the intestines. After a while, the portal reports, it was revealed that the organ can adapt to different stimuli.
Such a discovery may be interesting because it confirms the hypothesis put forward about the priority of the development of the intestinal nervous system in the mammalian organism, and then the brain. That is, in fact, animals first formed a certain mechanism of food intake and processing, which ensured their survival.
However, this is the first time a neural pattern has been found in the colon, the study said. But it's too early to rejoice: only mice have it. However, experts are confident that these results may be applicable to other mammals, including humans. Although this issue requires further study, the portal writes.
Ekaterina GABEL
