What part of nervous system controls digestion?

Welcome, dear reader, to a hilarious and informative journey through the wacky world of digestion. Today we will be discussing one key question that often comes up (pun intended): What part of the nervous system controls digestion? So sit back, relax and let’s dive in!

Digestion 101

Before we delve into which part or parts of our nervous system handle digestion, let’s get a basic understanding of how this whole process goes down. Hold onto your hats folks – it gets pretty wild.

Digestion starts as soon as food enters your mouth and even before! Your brain sends signals to your salivary glands telling them to produce saliva enzyme amylase, which breaks down carbohydrates right off the bat. As you chew, larger pieces are broken into smaller ones increasing surface area for enzymes to break down.

Once swallowed, food travels down the oesophagus thanks to peristalsis (cue cringe-worthy noises) where it reaches stomach ending up in a happy chemical soup with hydrochloric acid and some more enzymes breaking proteins apart aided by vigorous contractions known as gastric mixing.

The small intestine absorbs nutrients from broken-down macromolecules by heavily-spruced-up villi—no pun here but they sure have weird hairdo under microscope—to pass on remaining wasteproducts called chyme inside large intestine aka Colon, aka our last hope at conservation-driven reclamation project (seems quite gross; no wonder “eew” rhymes with poo.).

Now that we got that out of way – let’s move on:

Brainy McBrainface: The Overview

The digestive tract itself has its own partially independent set-up called enteric nerve plexus controlling most intestinal functions such as spasms etc., functioning basically like an ENS – enteric nervous system if you like sounding smart. The enteric nervous system processes information from sensory receptor cells, monitors the GI lumen and coordinates motor activity that happens in case any situation arises.

But outside of this enteric plexus, it’s a whole other story; aka opposite twins on each side sharing nothing but genetic code!

There are two different parts to the Nervous System in charge of digestion:

  • The Enteric Nervous System
  • The Autonomic Nervous System

The former only deals with control and maintenance inside the gut while autonomic nerves reach out further covering guts as well as target organs such as pancreas or liver to keep everything in shape.

A Little More About The ANS

It is pretty complex so don’t let its name trick you! Here’s an analogy for easyPeezy: All muscles have actions sets known as agonists (contracting muscle) and antagonists (relaxing muscle) opposing one another resulting in movement – chewing when relaxed then contracting towards stomach via throat etc., both entering their specific “rest-and-digest” aka Parasympathetic versus “fight-or-flight” states—were we about to get attacked by toothpick? Nope, simply our Sympathetic chain ordered us into panic mode not worrying about digesting now ‘cos ain’t nobody got time for that!’

Sympathetic NS helps manage high-stress scenarios by reducing blood flow necessary during digestion—they won’t kill cause they cannot eat either—but once returning back sit down calmly achieve peace once touched again after hearing what was actually an okay-to-eat taco bell meal order. Upon sensing stress such ‘symps’ kick-start Adrenal Gland release adrenalin which triggers heart rate increase & overall energized sensation reducing appetite until crisis has been survived.

Parasympathetics handle restful situations like stargazing/Netflix session in fleecepyjamas, inducing more comprehensive digestion by deploying a lot more blood flow and relaxation. Symptoms of its operation are general feeling of ease, less tension overall with an increased prowling tendency to raid the fridge as opposed to fight or flight trigger…

The Brain-Gut Connection

Now that you know about the 2 part anatomy at play, one question begs answering – “how exactly does that ‘brainy McBrainface’ we all sport upstairs connect with our digestive system?”

Here’s some science-y words for ya:

  • Vagus Nerve
  • Hypo-Thalamus
  • Medulla Oblongata

The Vagus nerve forms quite literally your brain’s gut highway running from Medulla Oblongata -in charge of autonomous life-supporting jobs like heart beating in the cranium down into Digestive tract.

Your Hypothalamus coordinates good communication among organs within sympathetic/parasympathetic systems helping control digestion, immune response and so on. It helps generate signals appropriate for maintaining optimal metabolic health; Sending instructions through release HORMONES between several glands such as pituitary gland directing various hormones relation/significant body functions needing adjustment—such acts do lead to direct stimulation stimulating stomach secretions gastric cells—whew!

Not too funny? Here let me tell a joke:
Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing!
Okay okay an extra fact then:
Unfortunately male hormone testosterone is known to lower thyroxine potency (so women can end up having higher resting metabolism than men).

The Entero-Hepatic Circulation

Lastly, give enteric organisms working inside intestines a drum-roll please: We have another important pathway called the entero-hepatic circulation which involves liver storing critical water-soluble minerals vitamins before sending them deep back down plus reabsorbing bile salts necessary breakdown fat molecules properly. If not for this diligent system, our body wouldn’t be able to continue processing nutrients properly.

Here are some terms to memorize:

  • Bile salts
  • Enteric organisms
  • Liver

Wondering how we ended on the liver? Let me break it down:

Liver works in tandem with gut and eases its job by entrancing toxins and keeping a balance that helps improve overall metabolic health. So next time you feel like indulging yourself in another alcoholic binge session just remember ‘cos my words won’t go unheard, your liver is angry (and feeling victim-blamed) for having to take an extra load because of all those times…but now returning back into track. Anyways! The Entero-Hepatic Circulation helps further breakdownsaid fat molecules onto which bile from nearby gall bladder drips. These basic fats found within chymous mixtures help absorb vitamins A,D,E,K as well – so in summary an essential part of knowledgebase directly/indirectly influencing digestive process even before anyone gets a chance attempting steak-eating contest!

Final Thoughts

So there you have it folks – after taking a wild ride through the twists and turns (pun intended again!) of digestion, we finally made headway breaking down exactly what parts of our nervous system control this miraculous feat.

From vagus nerves to hormones released from glands via hypothalamus signals up top as well; everything work together promote homeostasis appropriate environment regulation changes—to keep every meal flowing according plan’s flowchart annotated approved around your stomach area too—so who knows maybe somewhere deep inside brainy McBrainface’s clever little circuits – there might be room for humour after all.

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