​People often talk about their “gut instincts” or how they just “felt it in my guts” or that stress can give you “butterflies in the stomach” or make you nauseous to the point of vomiting.

Are these just figures of speech?

It turns out that the gut – the digestive system – has its own nervous system that is often referred to as our “second brain”. This “second brain” is called the enteric nervous system (ENS) and research is revealing that the ENS is in direct communication with the brain and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (part of the central nervous system or CNS), the gut microbiota, the hormonal and the immune systems.

These are two-way communications systems, so that, for example, the microbiota – the combined pattern of microbes in the gut – can affect the stress response, the immune response, hormonal control of digestion and the predisposition to various conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, obesity, diabetes, depression and anxiety. In turn, the ENS – and likely the CNS – can affect the pattern of bacteria in the microbiome as well as the digestive processes of the gut. However, it is becoming clearer that this is only the tip of the iceberg – the ENS, CNS and the microbiota can interact to produce dysfunction in the digestive, neurological, immune and hormonal systems, and to affect mental health.

Original video from TED-Ed via YouTube

When you eat something loaded with sugar, your taste buds, your gut and your brain all take notice. This activation of your reward system is not unlike how bodies process addictive substances such as alcohol or nicotine -- an overload of sugar spikes dopamine levels and leaves you craving more.

​Nicole Avena explains why sweets and treats should be enjoyed in moderation.

​Lesson by Nicole Avena, animation by STK Films.

As major technology firms race to roll out augmented reality products, Stanford researchers are learning how it affects people's behavior - in both the physical world and a digitally enhanced one.

In a new study led by Jeremy Bailenson, a professor of communication in the School of Humanities and Sciences, researchers found that after people had an experience in augmented reality (AR) - simulated by wearing goggles that layer computer-generated content onto real-world environments - their interactions in their physical world changed as well, even with the AR device removed. For example, people avoided sitting on a chair they had just seen a virtual person sit on. Researchers also found that participants appeared to be influenced by the presence of a virtual person in a similar way they would be if a real person were next to them. These findings are set to publish May 14 in PLOS ONE.

"We've discovered that using augmented reality technology can change where you walk, how you turn your head, how well you do on tasks, and how you connect socially with other physical people in the room," said Bailenson, who co-authored the paper with graduate students Mark Roman Miller, Hanseul Jun and Fernanda Herrera, who are the lead authors.​

What’s an s-shaped animal with scales and no legs?  What has big ears, a trunk and tusks? What goes ‘woof’ and chases cats? The brain’s ability to reconstruct facts – ‘a snake’, ‘an elephant’ and ‘a dog’ – from clues has been observed using brain scanning by researchers at Aalto university. Their study was published today in Nature Communications.

In the research, test subjects were given three clues to help them guess what familiar objects the clues described. In addition to well-known animals, the clues depicted vegetables, fruits, tools and vehicles. The familiar objects and concepts described in the clues were never presented directly to the test subjects.

The researchers at Aalto University demonstrated that brain activation patterns contained more information about the features of the concept than had been presented as clues. The researchers concluded that the brain uses environmental clues in an agile way to activate a whole range of the target concept’s properties that have been learned during life.

An international team of researchers has identified, for the first time, the cell types, areas and biological processes in the brain that mediate the genetic risk of insomnia. This was made possible by assessing DNA and sleep features in no less than 1.3 million people. The findings are a major step towards getting a grip on the biological mechanisms that cause insomnia.

Insomnia is one of the most common disorders. Many people occasionally have a bad night of sleep. One out of ten people chronically experience poor sleep and suffer severely from the daytime consequences. Worldwide, 770 million people have chronic insomnia.

Welcome to winter and the middle of the year! I hope the first half of the year has been filled with experiences that have been enjoyable and/or experiences that we can learn and grow from.

I've recently attended the first International Conference of Neuropsychotherapy and pre-conference workshops, held at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Brisbane from 23 to 26 May 2017. The conference was brought about from an ever increasing global interest of professionals working from a brain-based perspective. The main theme of the conference was "Neuroscience Research to Applied Practice" and focused on scientific evidence-based research and its practical application in various domains including: psychopathology, resilience, pain, grief and loss, sport and performance maximisation, attachment and development through the lifespan, education and wellness. Leading world renowned experts from Australia, Canada, USA, South Africa, United Kingdom, Singapore, Indonesia and New Zealand addressed the attendees in their specialist field.

Recent Neuroscience research has given us an understanding into the many factors that improve mental health and well-being. Neuropsychotherapy focuses on the neural processes that underpin human responses including memory, thoughts, sensations, behaviors, emotions, and social interactions and it gives guidelines and strategies to address unhelpful functioning in these areas and improve overall wellbeing based on current neuroscience research findings.