Do you ever get nervous, aroused or excited and have a certain feeling in your stomach and wonder why that happens? 🦋 There's a more complex reasoning to it.
Theres many elements that correlate to that feeling, It begins in the limbic system which processes emotions in the brain and then activates the HPA axis like when you're speaking in front of a crowd or sitting in front of your crush, which is the body’s main stress response that controls our physical reactions.
That butterfly feeling begins with that HPA pathway, stress signals from the brain go through the vagus nerve when the pathway is active and together they set off a series of physiological reactions throughout the body including the fluttery feeling in the stomach. The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) which is situated in the hypothalamus near the base of the brain, is a key component in the HPA pathways pattern of stress regulation.
It coordinates the body’s reaction to stress by processing signals from environmental stimuli and emotions which decides how strong the HPA axis should respond. These signals also communicate with the vagus nerve which is a nerve that connects from your brain to your gut.
But...the amount of microbes in your gut actually change how HPA and PVN regulate stress in the brain. With that being said there's a combination of the PVN, HPA, the vagus nerve and the gut microbes. With that being said, when the pathway is stimulated, it changes your digestive activity which creates that fluttery feeling.
When you are feeling nervous whether its presenting or on a first date, its not just your heart that's in play its also the neurons in your brain and your gut microbes.
Those butterflies are emotional and biological.
bahar, Bahar, edvina. “Butterflies in Your Stomach — Or, Less Romantically, Brain in Your Gut.” The Varsity, 11 Feb. 2024, thevarsity.ca/2024/02/11/butterflies-in-your-stomach-or-less-romantically-brain-in-your-gut/
Wow! I’m getting butterflies just from reading this post! Dr. Campisi probably got some too when he saw his favorite nerve being mentioned (Vagus Nerve X).
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post, and I have a question about the HBA pathway. If the HBA pathway is stimulated at a higher intensity, will the intensity of the butterfly feeling increase or will there be no change?
Haha I love that, Dr.Campisi would definitely love the vagus nerve being mentioned. Great question about the HPA axis, in general yes when the HPA axis is activated more intensely then the physical sensations it regulates also becomes stronger. Stronger HPA axis=more stress hormones being released. Once that stress response hits a high threshold though, the feeling isn't "butterflies" anymore, it's more intense.
DeleteHi Valla! Yes, I have definitely felt butterflies in my stomach, especially before exams. It makes sense that the limbic system would take in these emotions of nervousness causing the release of signals in the HPA axis which then also activates the vagus nerve, connecting to the the brain and gut and when stimulated. It was interesting to learn that the "butterflies" have a biological significance behind them and I am not just extremely nervous. I wonder what the direct interaction between both the gut and the heart is when these hormonal signals are released? I found an article that dives into it: ( https://www.heartandstroke.ca/articles/nurturing-your-gut-brain-connection-for-whole-body-health ) . From my understanding, when the microbe is imbalanced, it can send incorrect signals to the brain's vagus nerve. If the vagus nerve is not working properly, then it can affect heart rate which since the vagus nerve plays a huge role in the mechanics of the PNS. I had a great time reading about this topic and found your explanation very interesting!
ReplyDeleteI love this post Valla! It is really fascinating how much the brain impacts all systems in our body. Since what you eat can change your gut microbiome, does this also change how/when we feel butterflies in our stomach? Does someone that eats a vegan diet feel the butterfly feeling differently than someone who eats meat everyday?
ReplyDeleteHey izzy ! that is actually such a good question I had to look into it. What we eat can influence how we feel. When people change their diet, it's been reported that there's changes in mood, anxiety and well being. Diet alters your gut microbiome which influences brain function through the gut brain axis. So what someone eats might actually influence how "butterflies" or emotional sensations feel for them
DeleteMartin, S. E., Kraft, C. S., Ziegler, T. R., Millson, E. C., Rishishwar, L., & Martin, G. S. (2023, March 21). The role of Diet on the gut microbiome, mood and happiness. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10055576/
How do gut microbes have an effect on a person's emotional state? You say in the post that it has to do with the amount of microbes, but what is it they are actually doing?
ReplyDeleteGreat question joey :) gut microbes affect emotions because they send signals to the brain through the gut brain connection. This can affect stress levels and mood. I mentioned in my post the gut microbes influence how strongly the HPA pathway responds. It's the way the gut microbes interact with the other pathways I mentioned that shapes how we feel.
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