New York TimesBook Review
"Persuasive, impassioned... hopeful news [for those] suffering from functional bowel disease."



"Persuasive, impassioned... hopeful news [for those] suffering from functional bowel disease."


Book Description
Dr. Michael Gershon has devoted his career to understanding the human bowel (the stomach, esophagus, small intestine, and colon). His thirty years of research have led to an extraordinary rediscovery: nerve cells in the gut that act as a brain. This "second brain" can control our gut all by itself. Our two brains -- the one in our head and the one in our bowel -- must cooperate. If they do not, then there is chaos in the gut and misery in the head -- everything from "butterflies" to cramps, from diarrhea to constipation. Dr. Gershon's work has led to radical new understandings about a wide range of gastrointestinal problems including gastroenteritis, nervous stomach, and irritable bowel syndrome. The Second Brain represents a quantum leap in medical knowledge and is already benefiting patients whose symptoms were previously dismissed as neurotic or "it's all in your head."


About the Author
Michael D. Gershon M.D., is chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.

ANNOTATION

"Thirty years of research have led this author to the rediscovery of nerve cells in the gut, which act as a second brain, leading to a radical new understanding about a wide range of gastrointestinal problems."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dr. Michael Gershon has devoted his career to understanding the human bowel (the stomach, esophagus, small intestine, and colon). His thirty years of research have led to an extraordinary rediscovery: nerve cells in the gut that act as a brain. This "second brain" can control our gut all by itself. Our two brains--the one in our head and the one in our bowel--must cooperate. If they do not, then there is chaos in the gut and misery in the head--everything from "butterflies" to cramps, from diarrhea to constipation. Dr. Gershon's work has led to radical new understandings about a wide range of gastrointestinal problems including gastroenteritis, nervous stomach, and irritable bowel syndrome. The Second Brain represents a quantum leap in medical knowledge and is already benefiting patients whose symptoms were previously dismissed as neurotic or "it's all in your head."

FROM THE CRITICS

New York Times Book Review

Persuasive, impassioned... hopeful news [for those] suffering from functional bowel disease.

Kirkus Reviews

The nature of a so-called second brain in the gut is revealed in exquisite detail by a neurogastroenterologist who has spent some 30 years researching the subject. Gershon, professor of anatomy and cell biology at New York's Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, is enthralled by the sophistication of the enteric nervous system. He calls this system, which operates the bowel, a second brain, pointing out that it contains all the classes of neurotransmitters found in the brain. For nonbiologists entering his world, a whole new vocabulary with terms like neural crest, 5-HT1P receptor, and functional ligand must be acquired. While the terminology can be daunting and the exhaustive details sometimes overwhelming, Gershon has wisely included lots of clear line drawings to help the novice understand the nervous system and the complexities of the digestive system that it runs. Happily, he also tells his story in human terms, paying homage to those whose discoveries enabled his own, good-humoredly sharing the exhilaration of jousting with colleagues over his theories, and generously describing the skills and inventiveness of researchers in his own laboratory and those of other neurobiologists. As this research sheds light on how the "brain in the belly" controls the behavior of the bowel, progress can be expected in the prevention, treatment, and control of gastrointestinal disease. When patients present with gastrointestinal problems for which doctors can find no specific cause, too often they are dismissed as neurotic complainers. That answers may be found in the enteric nervous system offers new hope for the 20 percent of Americans diagnosed with functional bowel disorders. An authoritativework that makes abundantly clear the value of basic research; unfortunately, it's encumbered with an intimidating amount of technical detail that may discourage interested readers.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Michael Gershon has been a lifetime student of the enteric nervous system and the role of serotonin as one of its many neurotransmitters. This book, The Second Brain, displays his outstanding ability as a teacher and storyteller. It beautifully, simply and accurately summarizes many difficult scientific concepts about the enteric nervous system in a manner that is so lively and engaging that you won't want to put it down. This book can be enjoyed on many levels -- it is a must read for anyone interested in the workings of the autonomic nervous system, and also a fascinating read for those interested in the gut or even general biology. — Raj K. Goyal