[david_draco]

> What does it mean that that I feel my anxiety in my gut? And that I clearly feel when I’m speaking from my head or my heart (or both)? [...] What does it mean that that I feel my anxiety in my gut? And that I clearly feel when I’m speaking from my head or my heart (or both)?

An unjustified logical jump here seems to be that where you feel your thoughts and feelings are coming from is where the responsible neurons are. The assignment of the feeling of origin may be a separate mechanism.

[xattt]

The article reads like a naïve person coming to terms with the idea of consciousness… like “whoa maaan, my fingers… they’re finging!”

“Extra-cerebral” neurons are optimized for different functions than neurons proper in the brain.

It’s unlikely that the gut has thoughts and feelings, given neuronal tissue is distributed throughout viscera (versus concentrated in one spot like the brain). They are distributed so that smooth muscle tissue can contract appropriately and push food and wastes down the line.

The author compares the number of GI neurons to the number of neurons in a dog’s brain, but gleans over the number of neurons in a dog’s GI tract which is probably similar or proportionally less because the tract is physically smaller.

The neurons the author highlights in the heart are concentrated at the base, because the shape of the heart is optimized for coordinated contraction via electrical impulse propagation.

[killerstorm]

I think people are just confusing cause and effect here.

Anxiety triggers release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which trigger a host of physical symptoms ranging from cold hands (reduced blood flow in extremities) to upset stomach, nausea, increased heart rate, etc.

Brain can anticipate these changes and associate anxiety with the effects of these hormones. There might be all sorts of interesting interactions, but saying that gut is responsible for processing of these feelings is definitely a stretch.

Another physical reaction which is associated with an emotion is blushing. But somehow nobody is talking about face skin taking control...

[justonceokay]

Yes actually in my experience the physical feelings concomitant with anxiety often make the mental feelings of worry and dread much worse. If anything the author sounds like they are conflating having bad feelings for “processing”.

[_alternator_]

I also found it sloppy. The reference for heart transplant patients getting memories from the donor actually says that there are self reported personality changes in 89% of heart transplant patients, which was statistically the same as other organs. So it doesn’t say what the author wants it to say.