[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.