Why that ‘gut feeling’ is more than just a metaphor

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Having a 'gut feeling' is more than just a metaphor, according to new research.

Fear and loathing really do make the stomach more acidic as levels rise in line with intense emotions, researchers found.

The Italian team asked 31 healthy young men to take a smart pill that measures acidity in the gut.

The men then watched videos that elicit disgust, fear and happiness while the sensor traveled down their gastrointestinal tract, before being passed naturally.

After each video, the participants completed a questionnaire to rate the intensity of their emotions, reports New Scientist.

When they watched the disgusting and scary videos, stomach acidity increased compared to what it was at the outset.

Those with the highest readings reported feeling the most disgusted and fearful. The more fearful they felt, the more acidic their stomachs became.

Dr. Giuseppina Porciello, of the Sapienza University of Rome and lead author of the study, said: "Although it is generally held gastro-intestinal signals are related to emotions, direct evidence for such a link is currently lacking.

"Our findings suggest they contribute to unique emotional states. Pills may open new avenues for exploring the deep-body physiology of emotions."

The study gives the most detailed analysis to date of the complex relationship between the mind and the gut, researchers said.

Participants who reported feeling happy, regardless of the video they watched, had less acidic stomachs.

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To establish whether our emotions influence our stomach's acidity, or vice versa, Dr. Porciello says proton pump inhibitors could be administered.

They stop the stomach lining from producing too much acid. It would show if this correlates with a fall in the intensity of negative emotions.

Making the tummy more acidic during unpleasant experiences is believed to be an evolutionary response.

The finding reinforces models that suggest the gastric network plays a major role in our body's emotional responses.

Feeling disgust in the pit of your stomach isn't unusual. In fact, self-reported 'body maps' of emotions often associate negative emotions with the gastric system.

It's not just a mental thing either – recordings of the electrical activity in the gut's muscular wall also reflect our experiences of revulsion.

Our bodies appear to be driven to ramp up gastric activity when we experience things we ought to stay clear of, evoking a sense of nausea.

In turn, this sensation becomes part of the fear response, driving us to act accordingly.

Dr. Porciello and colleagues are now carrying out a similar study on female participants.

The study was published in the journal bioRxiv.