The Second Brain : The Scientific Basis of Gut Instinct and a Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders of the Stomach and Intestines (Hardcover)

by Michael Gershon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Did you ever tell someone that they think with their stomach? Then you're on the cutting edge of scientific thought, according to researcher Michael D. Gershon. The title of his book The Second Brain refers to the hundred million nerve cells in and around our guts that often act entirely independently of the dictator inside our heads. This isn't so bad--there are some meals we'd rather not have to think about eating, much less digesting. Gershon tells us the stories of his development into a scientist, his determination to promote neurogastroenterology as a legitimate field of research, and the nature of "the brain gone south," all with humor and aplomb.

Though not for the overly squeamish (after all, even if Gershon were to pull his punches, his subject still carries traces of old taboos), The Second Brain is a lively and invigorating read. The illustrations are superb and well labeled; this complements the text, which ranges from clinical to personal, as when the author details the events leading to his mother's tragic death following unnecessary surgery for an ulcer. The interactions between the enteric nervous system and digestion, emotion, and disease are not simple, but Gershon's patient prose explains everything in terms any interested layperson can understand.

As in the best scientific works, The Second Brain informs and inspires, surprising the reader with unexpected complexities and mysteries arising in such a seemingly primitive venue. It makes excellent after-dinner reading. --Rob Lightner

From Publishers Weekly
Gershon, who has been called the father of neurogastroenterology and is professor of anatomy and cell biology at New York's Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, has devoted his career to basic research on the nervous system of the gut. His fascination with this "second brain" is boundless, and he strives mightily to share his enthusiasm. With analogies and simple line drawings, good humor and a story-teller's love of character and plot, he describes how knowledge about the little-known enteric nervous system has been uncovered. To appreciate the wonder of this second brain, one must grasp the complexity of the system it runs, and Gershon tackles that subject in considerable detail?indeed, probably more detail than the general reader requires. While the particulars of research conducted in his and other neurobiologists' labs is also likely to overwhelm the nonbiologist, general readers will appreciate the implications of that research. As understanding emerges of how the second brain controls the behavior of the bowel, real progress is coming in the prevention, treatment and control of the belly's woes. To millions of sufferers of such diseases as heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome, this will be welcome information.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (October 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060182520
• ISBN-13: 978-0060182526
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #508,673 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read. Plenty of human interest & bio science, January 6, 1999

By	Amazon reviewer "areaderinco" (Colorado USA) - See all my reviews

From the author who founded neurogastroenterology. Gershon gets pretty technical, but even a layman (like me) is drawn into his interesting subject. The book chronicles his thirty years of research into the "second brain": the independent nerve mass literally in the gut. Probably most doctors today aren't aware of this whole type of nervous system even though its presence was discovered decades ago. (This is why digestion is not affected by spinal injuries.) Somehow this body of knowledge was forgotton by medicine. 'Eclipsed' is the word the author uses. Gershon "rediscovered" the existence of the second brain and began doing research in the 1960s about the affect of neurotransmitters (like serotonin) and their effect on this bowel brain. In the process of his narrative he explains how different chemicals (like Prozac, LSD, adrenaline, acetylcholine, puffer fish toxin, etc) can affect the brain and the sympathetic and peripheral nervous systems. He also discusses diseases like Alzheimer's, etc. The best part of the book is the author's personal family stories which he weaves into his narration. I was very touched by the story of his mother's death from a bleeding ulcer, surgery and subsequent stroke, and Alzheimers. The only problem with the book is that it is at once too long and too short. Too long because sometimes it gets too technical and was a little hard for me to stay interested and excited. Too short because in spite of covering thirty years of research the story is only a prologue. It's part one and part two remains in the future. What are the implications of the second brain? Will knowledge of how it works help cure diseases? We begin with a monumental reawakening. A re-acknowledgement that the second brain is there. What it means we still don't yet know. We have learned that ulcers are caused by viruses. That some depression may be depression of the bowel brain. That Alzheimers effects both brains. But we don't know if problems with intra-brain communication can cause illness. Have we been treating the wrong brain? Can autism and Parkinson's disease be better treated by concentrating on the gut brain? So much promise for the future, yet still a lack of answers. I finished the book feeling a little incomplete.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A modern primer on the digestive tract, and more, April 22, 1999

By	[e-mail] "noelherbst" (Menlo Park, CA) - See all my reviews

The long tradition of first rate scientists who are also talented writers, such as Lewis Thomas and James Watson, is happily continued in "The Second Brain". Gershon describes the operation of the gut for the layman, managing to strike just the right tone without insulting one's intelligence or oversimplifying. The book, frequently witty and amusing, is part memoir and part up-to-date primer on the operation of the gut. A particular triumph is a description of a shootout at a scientific meeting in Cincinnati where Gershon's theories about the importance of seratonin were debated.

Later sections of the book become quite technical, such as the seven (?) different varieties of seratonin receptors described in Chapter 9. This is very detailed, but the problem here is that the very complex mechanism that nature has built does not satisfy our wish for simplicity. Gershon tries to show what the scientific struggle to gain understanding is like on the front lines as simple hypotheses often don't work out and complications multiply.

In the midst of this complexity, one finds the description of some truly marvelous experiments in embryology. The experimenters replace certain cells of chicken embryos with similar cells from quail embryos. As the embryo develops, it is possible to tell what's become of the originally implanted cells and thus trace the details of embryonic development. The elegance of the experiments and of the tools (immunocytochemical analysis etc.) is very impressive. I would have liked more.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The prognosis for the person taking Prozac is troubling., October 29, 1999

By	Janice Pearson (Santa Cruz, California) - See all my reviews

I was interested in Gershon's hypothesis about the connection between taking the antidepressant Prozac and the potential for chronic neurological bowel disfunction. At first I was swayed, thinking that, yes, the receptors for serotonin would be desensitized by the longer exposure to the serotonin molecules, due to the blocking of the re-uptake receptor by Prozac. He then freightens the Prozac dependant person with the hypothesis that their natural production of serotonin will decline and further that ultimately, the person has to look forward to an irritable bowel followed by bowel immobility...all due to Prozac's action. What I am wondering is this, are these unfortunate effects of Prozac due to the blocking of the re-uptake receptors or is it due to a presumed increase of concentration of serotonin in the enteric nervous system? If the depressed person is on Prozac because of low seratonin levels, then it seems like their levels of seratonin would just be brought up to normal, thus relieving some of their symptoms of depression but not necessarily causing a surplus in the neurotransmitter, serotonin. I wish the author would more clearly explain this and also I would like it if he would explain how the blood/circulatory system relates to the transport of neurotransmitters in both nervous systems.