Butterflies in the stomach do exist, according to science

The stomach and brain “talk” constantly. The butterfly flutters that you sometimes feel are the result of that communication, that bond in which emotions end up expressing themselves in the body. We explain it to you!

Have a date with someone we like. Anxiety before that decisive exam. Being about to give a speech to an audience… All of these situations have something in common that is very familiar to us: producing that unruly restlessness in our belly, often annoying and even painful. This fact may surprise many, but butterflies in the stomach do exist..

Indeed, those mischievous creatures that come to life in moments of intense emotions, falling in love, stress and nervousness, live in the digestive system. But yes, they do not have wings nor have they come into the world from a chrysalis. There are actually about 100 million cells that surround the digestive tract. and that act almost like a second abdominal brain.

They are alive and react intelligently when we are faced with an event that the brain interprets as a threatening or worrying situation. They also “flap” in those moments of our lives when love or desire permeate the brain. and neurotransmitters, such as adrenaline, orchestrate changes throughout the body (tachycardia, sweating…).

Butterflies in the stomach do exist, what does science tell us?

You are having a coffee at your favorite coffee shop and suddenly you see your first love enter, that person who marked your pre-adolescence. You recognize it instantly and so does your stomach, because in the second they begin to move, to flutter restlessly: the familiar butterflies. Why happens?

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What’s more… why do positive experiences like this and other more distressing ones, like facing an exam, share that same feeling? On average, these situations are also accompanied by other physiological experiences: the heart beats faster, the mouth becomes dry, we feel muscle tension… In reality, Butterflies in the stomach are the body’s way of reacting to high intensity emotional states.

The “culprit” is the enteric nervous system

Michael Gershon is professor and chair of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia University Medical Center. He is also the author of one of the best-known books on the “second brain.”

His work Second Brain, The: The Scientific Basis of Gut Instinct & a Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders It is a reference for understanding the behavior of neurons located in the stomach and intestine.

Something that Dr. Gershon points out to us is that butterflies in the stomach do exist and are produced by the enteric nervous system. This area is part of the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for tasks such as heart rate, blood flow, sweating…The enteric system does not think, but feels. A complex network of more than one hundred million neurons covers a good part of the digestive system. Studies such as the one carried out at Flinders University (Australia) show us that the enteric nervous system is even capable of generating electrical activity. . But it does so, yes, in a somewhat different way than the brain. When we experience an intense emotion, this subdivision of the autonomic nervous system reacts by triggering a series of changes, which generate the classic sensation of tickling, discomfort, burning, physiological restlessness… The butterflies in the stomach.

The “responsible” is adrenaline

There is a striking fact that undoubtedly generates a certain contradiction. We often tell ourselves that butterflies in our stomach do exist because they are our eternal companions when we are in love. However, in any situation in which we experience anxiety, fear or a feeling of threat, they are there again.

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What’s more, if there is a constant feeling when we are captive to anxiety, it is that constant winding in the stomach. Why it happens? Why do both positive and more complex emotions have the familiar “butterflies” as their physiological reflection?

The answer lies in a very specific neurotransmitter. Any alert situation or intense emotions are regulated by the autonomic nervous system, that urges us to fight or flee, to act or escape. To do this, it activates a whole series of physiological responses. For these responses to begin to occur, the enteric nervous system releases adrenaline.Adrenaline, in addition to producing tachycardia, sweating, dry mouth or pupillary dilation, orchestrates something else. This neurotransmitter causes blood flow in the stomach and intestine to be reduced..

The reason? To deliver more oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, which are ultimately what allow us to flee or act in the face of risk. The digestion process is not considered important in these circumstances.

By reducing blood flow in the stomach, it sends signals to the brain through sensory nerves. She does it in protest, as if warning that something is happening… That tingling sensation is our butterflies.

Butterflies in the stomach do exist, but they are not pleasant

We already know that butterflies in the stomach do exist, however, one thing is clear: they are not pleasant. Our most intense emotions always have a physiological correlate and are expressed in an annoying and even painful way. Often, adrenaline acts by contracting the intestinal walls and this forces us to urgently go to the bathroom.

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In addition, That drop in blood flow in the stomach slows down digestion, making it heavier… All this shows us that although an evocative and even romantic name has been chosen for that sensation, the reality is that sometimes these butterflies are small intruders, bringing us discomfort.